


Bring May Flowers

by AmuletRebel



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I know I'm a day late, I'll do double uploads to keep up, I'm back in my Marichat groove, Marichat May
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-01 13:10:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 38,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14521266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmuletRebel/pseuds/AmuletRebel
Summary: April showers bring May flowers. Thanks to a shocking drop-in from Chat Noir one night, Marinette must take care of him. He ends up building more of a bond with Marinette as his hero self than he would've imagined. Frequent visits turn nightly, and Adrien is learning a few secrets about Marinette.Story connected to Marichat May 2018





	1. You're injured. Please stay the night.

Marinette flopped onto her chaise as soon as she closed the trap door to her room. A muffled groan emerged as her body was splayed out. The blunette turned onto her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. It wasn’t Ladybug’s turn to patrol tonight, so that option was out. She just needed to do something, _anything_ , to get her mind off things.

Suddenly, a loud _thunk_ from above echoed throughout her bedroom walls. Marinette immediately shot up. It sounded like it came from her balcony. Chat Noir sometimes dropped by for visits after patrol. They had grown close over the last few months since his first night visit. The young designer often thought back to that night, seeing how genuine Chat was in his feeling for her—well, _Ladybug_. Marinette pulled herself up from the chair and climbed up her stairs, opening the hatch. She was just about ready to give Chat a piece of her mind if he broke anything.

“You know, chaton,” she began, pulling her signature blazer over her pajama top to protect herself from the cool night’s breeze, “you should at least give me a heads-up before—oh my god!” Marinette suddenly rushed onto her balcony and knelt beside a heavily breathing and bleeding Chat Noir. “Ch-Chat… What happened to you…?”

The blunette wasted no time putting an arm around his waist and pulling him up, having to literally drag him down into her bedroom. She set him gently down onto her bed, not caring if the sheets got blood on them. _That’s why laundry exists_ , Marinette thought to himself, trying to lighten her own mood. It didn’t help.

She then retrieved a first-aid kit she kept in her desk for whenever she pricked her finger or had injuries as Ladybug that her Miraculous Ladybug hadn’t fixed. She also got a damp washcloth from her sink and rushed back up to her bed to treat Chat. Marinette carefully patted his forehead to clean off the blood. Some of it had already dried. She gently pushed his messy blonde locks out of the way, caressing his cheek as she gazed down at him with sad bluebell eyes. Chat Noir groaned softly, his sharp peridot eyes focusing on the blunette.

“Princess…?” Chat mumbled, trying to sit up, but then groaned as he placed a clawed hand on his waist.

Marinette shushed him quietly, gently pushing him to lay back down. “Don’t speak. Let me help you.”

“But I…I need to go…”

“Chat, you’re injured,” the designer said with a stern edge in her voice. But then it softened to pure concern. “Please stay the night. Please…” She was practically begging at this point, not being able to stand her partner in pain.

Chat could only nod, his heart aching at seeing a dear friend in distress; because of him, no less. “Alright,” he whispered. But he almost lurched when he heard the zipper of his suit.

Marinette noticed his movement and sent him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m just wrapping up the wound.”

As she tended to him, Chat gazed around Marinette’s room, just about anything to avoid looking at her while she was basically touching his chest. Granted, she was dressing his wounds, but that didn’t stop the blush from rising onto his cheeks. He had also been in her room once, but that was almost a year ago, as Adrien, and he didn’t really take the time to look around. It was a little dark, but his night vision allowed him some liberty in that front.

She had a cork board next to her bed with photos of all her friends, even ones from the photoshoot she arranged for Juleka. He saw her design desk, where she worked on all her projects. A couple of her mannequins had unfinished pieces draped on them. But from what Chat could see, they would definitely turn out spectacular. Her shelves had little trinkets and even the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls he remembered that she made. The cat hero was about to look up at the ceiling to distract himself, when a flash of red caught his eye. In a little pink vase was a single red rose; a painfully familiar red rose. Yes, that could be an over exaggeration, but something in his gut was telling him it wasn’t just any rose.

“All down,” Marinette suddenly said, causing Chat to jolt a little. “Easy there.” She lied down next to him and rest her hand on the gauze wrapped around his injury. “Get some rest, okay? You’re watching over Paris all the time. Let me watch over you.”

Chat’s breath caught in his throat as he turned his gaze to her. She had already closed her eyes and was laying on her side, facing him. Her free hand reached up and gently rubbed his scalp like she was petting a frail little kitten. She was worried about him, and something about that sent his heart aflutter. Chat immediately eased into her touch, closing his own eyes as well. He would only hope Plagg would transform him back before Marinette had the chance to wake up. But for now, he was fine just like this. With the final thought of a red rose in mind, Chat drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know I’m late to the game, but I had the most stressful and time-consuming final of my life, that I had to take all the time to do and turn in yesterday. So I had no time to write. I’ll make it up by doing a double upload sometime, and around when I go to the anime convention.


	2. Can I Pick Princess?

_Okay, so maybe running away from home and then getting in a fight wasn’t the brightest idea_ , Adrien thought to himself as he stared up at the pink ceiling of Marinette’s room. He was still there when dawn broke and, to be perfectly honest, he had no intention of leaving anytime soon. He _really_ didn’t want to face his father, or Natalie, or anyone right now. The blonde heard a rustle next to him and looked over to see Marinette curled up next to him, fast asleep. Adrien rested a hand on his chest, noticing his hand was gloved. Plagg must’ve kept the transformation going. He didn’t know if the kwami of destruction could activate the miraculous on his own. The worst of the pain was gone, so that was a good sign. A dull ache did blossom whenever Adrien strained his movements too much.

Chat buried his head in Marinette’s pillow, letting out a sigh as he thought back to how this all happened. It was just another act of rebellion, running out his window has Chat Noir just to get away from it all, the little voice in the back of his head suggesting he never turn back but ultimately drowning it out with the rush of the wind. But when Chat saw three guys trying to break into a bank, the hero in him had to jump in. Adrien acknowledged how cliché that would’ve sounded if he said it out loud. It was the most typical plot of a television show. Vigilante jumps in to save the day, gets injured in the process, gets tended to by a pretty girl—

Chat suddenly spluttered as his thoughts caught up with him. The blood rushed to his cheeks and his green eyes shifted over the Marinette, his body stilling as she shifted. But she just snuggled into his bicep, her breathing steady and soft. Chat stared at her sleeping face a moment longer. He’d be stupid if he didn’t think Marinette was pretty. Plagg may have called him oblivious, but he certainly wasn’t blind. Nino and Nathanael had crushes on her. He even saw how Juleka’s brother, Luka, looked at Marinette during the music festival. Marinette was really an amazing girl; kicking butt at video games, designing gorgeous clothing from her creative mind, defending those who otherwise couldn’t defend themselves, and always ready to lend a helping hand. Even models would want what she had. He knew some models that had freckles tattooed on. But Marinette’s freckles were all natural and emphasized her big blue eyes perfectly. Her skin was like porcelain, smooth but with a lovely glow, never sickly pale like she was in poor health.

Chat shook his head once more, shaking the thoughts from his head. _Stop it! Ladybug is your one true love!_ Chat slowly sat up and stretched, suppressed the groan as he still felt a little pain from his injury. But his movements aroused the blunette awake. She mumbled incoherently and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Chat…?” she muttered just loud enough for him to hear. Suddenly, she jolted and was next to him in a second. “Are you okay? I should change the bandages! I’m so sorry!”

“Princess,” Chat tried to interrupt.

“I didn’t notice it. You must be in pain. I should get you some painkillers or something.”

“Mari.”

“You really shouldn’t be moving. Not that you can’t do anything. I mean, you’re a hero of Paris, and—”

“Marinette!” Chat grabbed her by the shoulders, cutting off Marinette’s rant and making her look up at him with her big bluebell eyes. “It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I’m doing much better thanks to you.”

They stayed there like that for a moment, a comfortable silence washing over them. Marinette smiled softly at him. Adrien found himself feeling so much lighter. He was only ever able to communicate this way with Ladybug. But speaking through their expressions make him feel just a little more connected to the sweet baker’s daughter (pun unintended). Chat opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of his stomach growling made him flush in embarrassment.

“Uh…”

The blunette covered her mouth to stifle her giggle. “Don’t worry, chaton. I’ll get you some food. My parents are down in the bakery, so I can just hop on down there and get something for us to eat.”

“Can I pick, princess?” Chat asked, looking at her with his big kitty eyes.

Marinette smirked. “That depends. Do you have a sweet tooth? Because breakfast with a baker family isn’t complete without something sweet.”

“I’m _pawsitive_!”

The blunette rolled here eyes, but her lips turned up with a fond smile. “Alright, minou, you can pick. We can have breakfast downstairs too; more space.”

“Sounds _clawsome_!” Chat Noir joked with a big grin, following the groaning girl as she descended the stairs down to the living area, taking one glance at her single red rose before coming down after her. “If you have some of that spinach quiche, that would be _purrfect_!”

“Spinach and tuna quiche with cream cheese pastries it is.”

Chat settled on the couch, splaying himself out to better rest his injury while Marinette heading down to the bakery to get their breakfast. She opened the door and made a beeline to the back, already used to all the delicious scents that wafted through the little bakery.

“Good morning sweetheart,” her mother greeted, standing behind the cash register.

“Morning mom.”

“I heard some noise last night in your room. Were you up late again?”

“Y-yeah. I had something important that couldn’t wait.” Okay, she wasn’t lying; just omitting the fact that the “something important” was an injured cat-themed hero who happened to be her crime-fighting partner, because guess what, she’s secretly Ladybug. Crazy, right? Marinette shook off the thought and gathered the food Chat requested, not minding having some of her mom’s delicious quiche.

“Alright, dear. Just make sure not to stay up too late.”

“Will do!”

She rushed back above the bakery and into the living room, seeing the television turned on as Chat flipped through channels. She could only see his ears poking out from behind the couch. He looked a bit like a lazy house cat. Marinette couldn’t resist. “Here kitty, kitty! Breakfast time~!”

What she didn’t expect was to see Chat Noir’s ears twitch and he immediately sat up with a huge smile. “Thank you, princess!” He hopped off the couch and bounded to the table where the food was. “I’m actually kinda glad you brought cheese pastries.”

“Why?” Marinette asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Well, I need to detransform to get my energy back. I can’t stay like this,” he gestured to his suit, “forever. It’s not easy to maintain. And I know it sounds weird, but anything cheese-related does the trick.”

_So his kwami eats cheese?_ Marinette asked herself. She couldn’t say it out loud, otherwise her identity would be in jeopardy. “Okay, kitty. I need to get something from my room anyway. I’ll give you about 20 minutes and I’ll be back down. Sound fair?”

“Yeah. Thanks Marinette.”

The blunette couldn’t help the dazzling smile that bloomed on her face. “You’re welcome, Chat.”

Swiping some cookies to feed Tikki, Marinette went up to her room. True to her word, she waited twenty minutes while talking to Tikki. Her kwami wasn’t upset at all. She knew Marinette had a good heart and helping an injured Chat was in good conscience. Plus, nothing she did came close to revealing her identity. The designer also decided to hide her Adrien photos so Chat couldn’t tease her about it during his stay. She’d never hear the end of it. When her phone dinged to indicate 20 minutes was up, Marinette headed back down. But what she saw made her squeak in surprise.

Her mother and father were sitting on the couch, looking in her direction, while Chat Noir sipped on a fruit smoothie.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I’ll do the double upload tomorrow since I don’t have classes and the worst of it has passed.


	3. Adopted Cat

“M-Maman! P-Papa!” Marinette squeaked in surprised.

“Chat Noir here told us what was going on,” Sabine said, gesturing to Chat. Her gentle smile helped Marinette relax just a little. “You helped someone who was hurt, and you couldn’t just leave them there. We understand you wanted to help, dear, and Chat Noir is a perfectly trustworthy individual. He is quite the sweetheart as well.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Chat said with an embarrassed smile.

“Please, call me Sabine.”

“A-alright.”

Her father stood up, his slightly intimidating papa bear stature contrasting the big friendly smile under his mustache. “Now why don’t we all enjoy breakfast together?” he suggested.

Chat jumped up from his seat, smoothie in hand, and nodded rigorously. “Yes please!” The cat-themed hero had eaten alone in the mansion so many times that it felt nice to be part of a meal where the whole family came together to eat and talk.

“That sounds good,” the designer agreed, making her way over to the kitchen table.

“Oh, and Marinette?” her mother piped up, causing said girl to turn around.

“Yeah?”

“Next time you adopt a stray cat, you can always tell us. He already feels like part of the family.”

Both Marinette and Chat spluttered and turned red. But Marinette’s was more prominent while Chat’s mask hid his. But he sat at the table away, trying to bring down the heat in his face by practically downing his smoothie. He also decided to play observer as he munched on the quiche Marinette brought him while she bantered with her family. It was nice to see her mother and father interacting with her so much. He certainly didn’t envy her for it. Her happiness shouldn’t be put on hold just because he was miserable with his living situation. Just sitting here, in the small but homey living space, Adrien could feel the warmth of such love in his soul. It was a stark contrast to the spacious dining hall he normally ate his meals in, feeling a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere here at the Dupain-Cheng residence.

After breakfast, Marinette’s parents had to go back to manning the bakery, but Marinette and Chat stayed up in her room. It would be hard to explain why the famous Chat Noir was hanging around the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.

“So…” Marinette said, trying to break the ice. She looked around hoping to land on anything to bring up conversation. “Do you like video games…?”

“Do I?!” the green-eyed boy exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with interest. “Do you have Ultra Mecha Strike?!”

_Oh yeah, Chat did mention playing Ultra Mecha Strike once_ , the blunette thought to herself. “Of course I do!” she cheered, maybe a little louder than she should’ve. “It’s only my favorite game!”

“Fancy a round or two, then, princess?” the cat hero purred, plucking the two controllers from her desk.

“As long as you don’t cry when you lose,” Marinette retorted sassily, taking a controller from his gloved hand. She pulled out two chairs in front of her computer. Thank god Tikki suggested she change her wallpaper while Chat was here.

Chat practically leaped into his desk chair, crossing his legs and doing a little spin in it for flair. “Let’s do this.”

The designer couldn’t contain her giggles as she sat next to him, readying her fingers on her controller. “You’re always so over-the-top…” she said with a fond smile.

“Always?” Chat asked, eyes her like he was trying to pierce her soul.

“O-Oh!” Marinette blanched, stumbling to recover. “W-well, you are on the news a lot! You know, with you and Ladybug always saving the day together! Of course you become the focus of filming whenever people are around! Haha!” _Smooth… Kill me now._

“Right…” Chat’s eyes glanced over to the rose, which had been on his mind since last night. “So…what’s with the flower? Secret admirer?”

The blunette coughed suddenly, suddenly needing air. “W-what?! Oh, that! Well, you see, it was a gift from someone. And it’s so pretty. So of course I kept it. It’s special… Well!” She suddenly proclaimed her last word, distracting Chat long enough to turn to her. “Let’s play a couple rounds. And remember, no crying~”

“Challenge accepted, Purrincess~”

“Oh god, it’s like you’re made of leather and puns!” Marinette laughed and facepalmed.

“You forgot extremely good looks.”

“Yeah right!” She laughed louder and kicked his seat, but not enough to knock him over.

They continued to joke and game well into lunchtime. Chat nudged her from time to time to make her lose her focus, but she continued to kick his butt in every round. But Chat wasn’t offended. If anything, he was getting really comfortable here. He was able to really and be himself more than any other time. As Adrien, he has an image to keep up. But as Chat, the blonde was as free as a bird. He could say whatever came to mind—okay, not whatever came to mind, like “I suspect you’re Ladybug because of the rose you have”—without being reprimanded on behavior. If anything, he liked making Marinette laugh, considering how nervous she seemed around Adrien whenever they saw each other at school.

He guessed he guessed he got a little too comfortable. His stomach growled lower than that really hairy creature from that huge franchise of space movies. Marinette just giggled.

“You’re lucky I live in a bakery. You’ll be well-fed, that’s for sure.”

“Thank you, princess, for gracing this knight in shining leather with your delicious goods!”

“Okay, first of all, this isn’t medieval times; second, what would you like to eat?”

Chat rested his chin on his palm, contemplating all the choices he was positive Marinette’s parents could whip up. “Most of your pastries come in a variety of flavors, right?” he suddenly asked after a minute of silence.

“Of course.”

He jumped out of his seat and took Marinette gently by the wrist. “I have an idea!” he exclaimed before bounding down to the bakery. He made sure to remember to use the back entrance that led to the kitchen, so no one would spot him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a shorter chapter. I'm really tired and had less inspiration than usual. Plus, I wanted to practice more dialogue than detail. I'll do better. Scout's honor.  
> And what's Chat plotting? Be sure to find out in the next chapter!


	4. Croissant Murder

“Chat, this is a ridiculous idea.”

“But crazy ideas can lead to great things.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, but I am~ Nothing I do is _half-baked_.”

“Chat, _no_.”

“Chat, _yes_.”

Of all the things Chat wanted to eat, this was certainly something she didn’t expect. Marinette had been a little skeptical when Chat asked her how many flavors of croissants the bakery had in stock and then asked for one of each. So here she was, placed all the croissants on a serving try and laying it on the table in front of Chat Noir. They ranged from chocolate to ham and cheese to the new jalapeño flavor most customers gave a positive review on. She couldn’t help but snicker as she imagined all the ways this could go.

“Alright, chaton. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Just wait and see, princess,” Chat answered, his sharp cat eyes staring at her as a smirk graced his face.

“Uh-huh,” the blunette said with a snicker.

And like that, he was off. His teeth tore into the first croissant like it was his first meal in weeks. Marinette laughed and moved a hand over her face jokingly, to shield herself from any flying pastry pieces. She didn’t expect him to go ham on the next croissant within minutes. Certainly, she thought he’d quit by the third. But all good times must come to an end. Not even 5 minutes later, Chat Noir was groaning with his hands on his stomach and his forehead on the counter.

“I can’t go on…” he groaned loudly.

“I told you so~” Marinette said with a joking cheeriness. “You barely made a dent in the pile.”

“Sure I did!”

“You only ate four out of” she counted the rest on the plate “twenty.”

“Go ahead,” the hero bemoaned, “Mock my failure to save the people from the croissants that plague their lives!” He covered his forehead with the crook of his arm and leaned against the counter as he pretended to faint.

The pigtailed girl shot him a questioning look and a sassy smirk. “Plague?”

“They are just so tempting! Tasting these is like dying and being sent to heaven. You don’t want everyone to die, do you?”

“At the expense of our family business profit, I’d have to say it’s worth it if people keep buying.”

Chat gasped and held a gloved hand to his heart. “Princess! Who knew you could be so…wicked!”

It was silent for a moment. It felt like a tension was in the air as the two just stared at each other, neither daring to move. But within seconds, their cheeks puffed out before the both burst into laughter. Chat and Marinette doubled over in cheery laughter, holding their stomachs or wiping tears from their eyes. It took longer than probably appropriate—fifteen minutes—to settle down until their bodies only tremored slightly with soft chuckles.

“So what do you want to do now?” Marinette asked with a grin.

But that grin slowly faded as Chat’s tail drooped and his eyes fixated on the floor. “Actually…I should probably get home. My injury is doing a whole lot better thanks to you.” He stared up at her with a grateful smile. “And I’m sure my…family is worried about me.”

“It’s okay, Chat, I understand.” The designer placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a reassuring smile. “I had fun. I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“I had fun too.” Chat smiled back and made his way to the back entrance, so he could slip out easily. “And I’ll see you again.”

“You better.”

“Cat’s honor.” He gave a final salute and left.

Chat Noir didn’t show up that night. Nor did he show up next day. Marinette suspect Chat was just as busy as her. She was recently putting new pieces and spruced-up older pieces into her portfolio, hoping to send them to colleges and internships by the time she was old enough to get a job or internship in the industry. Tikki was fast asleep in the tiny bed she made for her, the lid closed to block out the light for Marinette’s lamp and she sketched out designs.

A tap at her window roused Marinette from her work. Turning around, she smiled as her saw Chat Noir waving at her. Once she was looking at her, he pointed upward, then hopped upward onto what she assumed was her balcony. Not needing to be told twice, Marinette climbed up to her bed and opened the trap door. But when she opened it, she was surprised to see a flower shoved in her face.

“Uh…” Marinette was at a loss for words as she stared at the fully bloomed light pink peony.

“Well, um…” Chat scratched his neck nervously, darting his daze to the next house over. “I saw the rose on your desk and…I thought…I should give you one too… Princess deserve flowers, right…?”

Marinette blushed as she accepted the flower, holding it close to her chest. She couldn’t just tell Chat that he’s the one who gave her the rose, so he didn’t have to get her anything. That would raise so many questions and Tikki advised her not to reveal her identity lest Hawkmoth use Chat to get to her while she was Marinette. “Th-thank you,” the pigtailed girl stuttered, the blush still present on her cheeks. She moved  aside and gestured to her room. “Why don’t you come in?”

“It’s okay. I just thought I’d stop by and thank you again for helping me.”

“It’s no problem. I hope I don’t have to do it again. I hate to see you hurt.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

In that moment, under the stars, Marinette made a move she never thought she would. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “No, thank you. Good night Chat Noir.”

“Y-y-yeah… Night…” He stiffly turned and jumped away, still in shock from what just happened.

Marinette closed the trapdoor to block that cool night air and made her way down to her desk. She stared at the vase, then at the peony, then back at the vase. With a little smile, Marinette place the peony next to the rose. Finally, she went up to her bad and slipped under the covers, staring at her flowers until she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based off [this little piece](https://australet789.tumblr.com/post/173594401290/marichat-may-day-4-croissant-murder-he-tried-the) by australet789 on tumblr.  
> Fun fact: Peonies are in season during May. Now the work's title is more obvious.


	5. Yarning for You

Adrien flopped onto his bed with a groan. Lucky for him, it was Nathalie that confronted him since his father was out on business when he got home. His explanation was another complex blend of truth and lies. After begging her to not tell his father, he told the story of how he was injured coming back from Nino’s place since they finished up early. On the way, he saw a girl who was in trouble and jumped in to help her. If Adrien said he was attacked, he’d never be able to leave the house again, so being the one to leap into action felt less likely to get him grounded for life. After he was hurt, a friend had found him and took him to their house, where he was patched up and stayed the night because of his injury. Obviously, he came home that afternoon once his wounds had healed. It was a miracle Nathalie even let him into his room by himself with the door closed.

The young model sat up, his knees to his chest. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, thinking back to last night; not the getting injured part, but the Marinette part. He knew Marinette was a caring and generous individual, but he saw a side of her he never expected. Whenever he saw he at school, she was shy and jumpy. He felt like she was the type to warm up to people with time. But when he started coming around to see her, she was full of sass and charm, despite knowing next to nothing about Chat Noir. At least, that’s what he thought at the time.

The red that laid on Marinette’s desk flashed back into his mind. What Ladybug, or rather _Marinette_ , didn’t know at the time, was that he engraved a few little pawprints on the stem of the rose with his claw. He was hopeful at the time he did it; if Ladybug accepted the rose, then the pawprints were like a signature, a sign of who gave it to her and personalized it just for her.

And when Marinette wasn’t looking, Chat leaned in an inspected the rose. His face had contorted in shock when he leaned in, and guess what he saw; a little pattern of pawprints carved into the stem. He had gasped at the time, but when Marinette turned to look at him, the cat-themed played it off as him stretching. She seemed to buy it, but still looked at him with worry. So it was official. Marinette was Ladybug. But that also meant Ladybug was intimidated by his civilian self.

“Ugh!” Adrien groaned, resting his head on his knees. This was so frustrating. Speaking of frustrating… The blonde looked over at his coffee table, where his kwami was nonchalantly nibbling on his Camembert. Normally, the little god would take this opportunity to mock Adrien and his (or lack of a) love life. But then, and _only then_ , did the realization dawn on him. “You know, don’t you? You know Ladybug’s real identity.”

Plagg stopped mid-chew and slowly turned to Adrien with wide eyes, but then he quickly looked back and resumed his little feast. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do!” Adrien protested. “It all makes sense now! We practically revealed our identities to each other through our kwamis!”

“Guess I can’t hide it anymore,” Plagg said with a sigh. “As long as we keep it on record that you found out on your own. I didn’t resist all those bribes for nothing. Not a lot of Chat Noirs could do what you almost did.” It’s true. Out of all the Chat Noirs, Adrien was the only one with the wealth to be able to afford to bribe Plagg with expensive smelly cheeses.

“But if Ladybug is Marinette, and Ladybug has interest in another boy, and Marinette is intimidated by me as Adrien, then Ladybug doesn’t like me at all!” He let out a whine before falling back onto his back, his face buried in his pillow.

Plagg snickered until he burst out laughing. “Wow, you’re so dense!” His laughing fit continued as his floated around and hovered over Adrien, cheese still in his paws. “I can’t believe you never notice that girl has a huge crush on you— Aaaaaaand thus I return to my cheese!” To emphasize his point, the black kwami took a hearty bite of Camembert.

“She…She has a crush on me…?” If that was true, then it was an anomaly that he wasn’t literally hit with a truckload of irony. If Marinette had a crush on him, then that meant Ladybug turned Chat Noir for Adrien; turning down him for _him_. _Whoa_ … “I-I need to go back there! Plagg, claws out!”

“Come on, can’t it waaait?!” Plagg was sucked into the ring before he could talk Adrien down and Chat Noir bound out his window after locking his bedroom door.

Marinette didn’t expect Chat Noir to show up the very next night, but he did. Nor did she expect him to bring her a flower again. He even brought a different one this time. The designer couldn’t help but accept with a smile, letting him into her room as she kept the trapdoor open for him, which he gladly leapt through. She placed the flower in the vase with the peony and rose.

“Lily-of-the-valley this time?” Marinette asked, giving him the side-eye. “I have to say, not a lot of guys bring girls flowers two nights in a row.”

“What can I say?” Chat shrugged, picking up a ball of yarn from the many scattered around her floor. “I can’t help but _yarn_ for you?” That earned him an unladylike groan and a ball of yarn through at his face, which he swiftly dodged. “What are you doing anyway?” he asked, gesturing to the mess of yarn. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were trying to make me paradise. Add some croissants and one of those huge cat beds fit for a royal cat, and I’d happily live here forever.”

The blunette just laughed and shook her head. “Not quite, chaton. I was actually trying to find a specific yarn.” She turned back and picked up the one on her desk, showing it to him. “I was hoping to make a hat or mittens or something to go with the scarf I made for the guy I like, even if he doesn’t know it’s from me…” She sighed and sat back at her seat, continuing her knitting at a steady pace.

“A-a scarf?” Chat froze in place Marinette made a scarf for the boy she liked? Yes, he got a scarf on his birthday, but Nathalie said it was from his father. So did Marinette give someone else a scarf? Then Plagg lied about Marinette having a crush on him.

“Yeah,” Marinette replied, “I made it for his birthday. I was so happy when I saw him wearing it the next day. Then he said it was from his dad. I don’t know what lead him to believe that, but…” She paused for a moment, thinking back to Adrien’s smile. “The scarf was meant to make him smile. And it did. He didn’t need to know it was from me. I wasn’t going to take that happiness away from him.”

Adrien stood there in utter shock as Marinette knitted under the soft glow of her desk lamp. He couldn’t believe it. Marinette really did have a crush on him. And _she_ was the one who cared enough to give him a present on his birthday. It must have been crushing to hear him gush about he scarf being his father’s gift. But she still took it in stride. Marinette was amazing. And he was a fool not to see it in just a general light. He didn’t really look deeper.

“I should get going,” Chat said as the clock red 10pm.

“I’ll walk you out,” Marinette said, following Chat out onto her balcony. “Have a good night, minou.”

“You too, Princess.” And with that farewell, Chat leapt off. He bound across rooftops, the thoughts of the scarf still running through his head. It drowned out the noises in the city below. But it didn’t drown out the explosion that resounded behind him. Chat looked back, expecting a run-of-the-mill akuma. But that all flew out the window when he heard a familiar scream. It sounded like…

“ _Marinette!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This was a long chapter. I actually expected less than this. Glad I could provide more. Reviews are welcome and thank you for reading!


	6. "You carried me bridal style through one akuma attack and now Paris ships us together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! It’s my finals week! And the only final that I really have to do is tomorrow. And it’s online, plus we’re not unallowed to look up answers, so I’m solid right about now. I’ll have more time to work on my stories until I start work in June. I’ll do my break to write ahead since I’ll be going places and won’t be able to upload some days.

Chat Noir leapt into action, speeding his way back to Marinette’s balcony. If she was caught up in this mess, she couldn’t transform into Ladybug. And Ladybug was needed to cleanse the akuma. But more importantly, Marinette was in danger! Yes, she was a strong and capable girl, but she wasn’t invincible. He panicked even more when he landed on her balcony and didn’t see her there. The bakery was intact, so Marinette must’ve been somewhere else at the time.

“Let me go!” her voice cried out. It was obvious in her tone that she was struggling.

“I’m coming, Marinette!” Chat yelled and catapulted his way to the source of her voice.

When Chat Noir arrived at the scene, he saw a metal-looking akuma trying to push Marinette of the roof of a building, the little moat that was supposed to be directly below filled with a weird light blue bubbling liquid. She was kicking and thrashing, gripping the railings for dear life so the akuma couldn’t succeed in getting her that little inch off the ledge. In that moment, the cat saw red. He dove in, knocking the akuma back with his baton. But in the struggle, the akuma’s leg kicked Marinette’s ankle, knocking her off the roof. She screamed at the top of her lungs, bracing herself for impact. However, a black blur swooped in and caught Marinette bridal style. When she opened her bluebell eyes, they welled up with tears of relief.

“Chat…” she whispered, “You—woah!”

He took no time to speak, adjusting her in his arms and holding on tight. “No time! I need to get you to a safe place!” Well, he was getting her to a discrete place so she could transform, but she didn’t need to know that. The green-eyed hero leapt across the rooftops once again, getting as far away from the disoriented akuma as possible. Once they were out of sight and the adrenaline calmed his nerves, Chat was able to think more rationally.

“Are you okay?” he asked, worry evident in his voice, “What happened?”

“I’m okay now,” she answered, her breathing returning to normal. “When you left, I stayed on my balcony a little bit longer for a break. Next thing I know, I’m being scooped up by ‘Scraptivator’ and carried off. Then he tries to drop me in that pool that turned people into scrap metal, so I fought back.”

He tightened his hold on her but careful not to hurt her. “I can’t tell you that you shouldn’t have done that, because you absolutely should’ve resisted.” He sighed, taking a deep breath before continuing. “I’m just glad I got to you in time. I heard you scream and…”

“Sorry I worried you,” the blunette muttered, looking away sadly.

“It’s alright, Princess.” Chat held her close to his chest, keeping her shielded until her found an isolated rooftop to land on. He gently set her down, ready to leave so she could transform. He didn’t know if he should tell her. She was so insistent on keeping it a secret. If he wanted to hold to her demands, he had to try harder to not get controlled by the enemy. Imagine what would happen if he was told to get Ladybug’s Miraculous, and Marinette hadn’t transformed. He shook his head, his blond locks ruffling in the breeze as he tried to shake the thoughts from his head. He really didn’t want to think about that now.

“Chat?” Marinette softly called, looking at him with concern.

“I-I’m alright,” he replied. “I’m gonna go handle to akuma. Stay safe and don’t _metal_ around.”

Her heard her coherent groan at his pun as he leapt off to find Scraptivator. Chat wasn’t surprised when he saw Ladybug just a few feet behind him. Marinette must’ve still had her kwami with her when she was swiped from her home. He was relieved she was well enough to leap through the air with her yoyo.

* * *

“Miraculous Ladybug!” the spotted hero exclaimed, throwing the boomerang up into the air.

With the Miraculous Light, everything went back to normal and the cleansed victim, Ronny Patel, was assisted home. He was fed up with the cops telling him he couldn’t search junk piles for scrap metal to use for his inventions. One too many tickets, and his latest creation being slapped out of his hands and broken, led to an angered Ronny being akumatized in Scraptivator, turning people into scrap to use for the giant robot he was making. Luckily, Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to take down the villain by making the boomerang bounce off walls and hit the off switch that was conveniently in a panel on his back.

“Pound it!” the two heroes cheered, bumping their fists as per usual.

When Ladybug’s miraculous beeped, she immediately took her yoyo, ready to make herself scarce.

“Wait!” Chat called out.

“Kitty, I gotta go,” Ladybug gently argued.

“I know, it’s just…we’re friends, right?”

“Of course, Chat. I could never think of you as anything less. I wouldn’t trust a someone I don’t consider a friend with my life.”

“That’s all I wanted to know. Thanks.” He sent a genuine smile her way, his happiness clearly radiating off him.

“You’re welcome,” she said and smiled back. Then she swung away while Chat went back home as well.

A couple nights later, when Chat visited Marinette, he peeked through the window and spotted her scrolling furiously on her computer. Her nose was scrunched up as her eyes darted around, occasionally shaking her head. Her bluebell eyes turned towards him and she suddenly leaped out of her seat, falling backward and crashing onto the floor. He could only assume she was groaning in pain as she hauled herself, and her desk chair, back up. Marinette held up her index finger at him and went up the ladder to her bed, opening the trapdoor for him.

Chat jumped through the window, a little bundle of lilacs in hand. He closed the trapdoor behind him and flourished a bow when he made it off her bed and onto the floor. “Hello, Princess~ I have coming baring a–” he stopped short when he noticed Marinette was back at her computer “gift…”

“We have a problem,” the blunette bluntly said, motioning to her computer. Chat laid the lilacs on the table and looked over her shoulder. “Apparently, someone saw you carry me bridal style through the akuma attack, and now all of Paris ships up together.”

Chat’s eyes widened as he saw the booming feed on the “Marichat” blog. All he could saw, while slack-jawed, was “Wow…”

“Yeah, wow. Thanks by the way.” She took the lilacs and gave them a little whiff, their scent calming her.

_Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back_ , Adrien thought as he reached for the mouse and began scrolling through the blog’s feed. To put it simply, he was both impressed and extremely lucky his mask covered his reddened cheeks. There was already fanart of the two of them; the two cuddling, Marinette playing with him like he’s an actual cat, them doing… _other things_ … Many artists, like australet789 and catneylang as far as he could see, were already booming with their work. Others had written up theories of how they got together or how their “star-crossed love” was clearly there in comparison to him and Ladybug. Oh, if only they knew like he recently did. “This is…um… I can’t seem to find the words…”

“You’re not the only one. Alya has been messaging me for hours about it.”

“Oh yeah? What did you say?”

“Nothing. I’m gonna set her straight tomorrow at school.”

Chat’s peridot eyes sparkled as he decided to have a little fun with his bugaboo. “Oh~? You’re going to tell her of your secret yet passionate affair with the amazing Chat Noir~?” He flexed for her, causing her to giggle.

She raised an eyebrow and leaned against her desk, her arms crossed. “Apparently, he’s also very humble.”

“Don’t forget irresistible!” Chat leaned towards her, tapping his chin. His belt tail swung expectantly.

Marinette rolled her eyes and scratched Chat’s chin with a breathy giggle. “How could I forget?” Her expression softened and a gentle smile graced her lips. When they moved onto her bed, he laid his head on her lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. It was times like this that didn’t needed a label. They found solace in each other’s presence.

But now, Adrien wanted more. His emotions told him to go for it, but the more rational side of him told him to think it through more. _Did he like Marinette just because she was Ladybug?_ Even if it stung him a little, he had to admit that his insistent attraction to Marinette did begin when he confirmed the rose was the same one he gave to his lady. He honestly felt a little ashamed to always proclaim he’d love the girl under the mask and yet there he was, day after day, constantly denying that Marinette was anything more than a friend.

_Just a friend, my left whisker_ , he could practically hear Plagg say.

And it was true for a time. The mask was all he had to go on, and so that became his focus. Well, guess he kinda broke his promise not to look around into her civilian life, but that was unintentional. Adrien never thought if Ladybug acted like a different person under the mask like he did. But now he took time to think things through. He always thought Marinette was amazing, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t find her at all attractive. It was just that now, he wanted to dive further into that attraction instead of pushing it down. _I want to get to know Marinette better. I want her to love both sides of me, and I will love both sides of her._ _I need to tell her what I know._ His ears straightened and he almost melted when she scratched near his ear. _After this…_ With that final thought, Chat closed his eyes and reveled in the scratches until it was his time to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my longest chapter yet! Don’t expect this all the time though. Inspiration for each chapter varies.
> 
> And yes! I did put [australet789](https://australet789.tumblr.com/) and [catneylang](http://catneylang.tumblr.com/) into my story. Their Marichat art make my soul feel complete again. If you haven’t checked them out on Tumblr, I DEFINITELY recommend you do.


	7. Mari Protects Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I surprisingly struggled with this one. I didn’t want to bring in another akuma so soon, and I stuck to that. I already have enough planned akuma attacks with certain prompts.  
> Yes, the first half is Adrienette, but Marichat is still central in this chapter.

Adrien closed the car door behind him, shifting the strap of his bookbag on his shoulder. He waited until his Gorilla drove off until he entered the school. When he did, the first thing he noticed was the large group of people gathered around the bottom of the stairs. Curious, the blonde moved his way through the crowd until he could spot the center of everyone’s attention. There, on the steps, was one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, flushed and fidgeting as she was bombarded with questions.

“Is it true?!”

“When did you start dating?”

“What do you two do for dates?”

“Yeah, if you were seen, it would be covered for sure!”

“W-w-well, uh…” Marinette stuttered, her words dying on her tongue as the questions kept piling up. Alya couldn’t ever disperse the crowd, if not for the lack of trying.

“Hey! Hey!” Alya raised her voice above the students, holding up her hands in a stop motion. “The only one who gets to grill this girl is me! So give her space. You’re suffocating her!”

“Isn’t it suspicious how she’s avoiding it?” a familiar voice haughtily asked, sending a chill down both Marinette’s and Adrien’s spines.

Chloe Bourgeois made her way to the front of the crowd, moving her hips in a way she probably believed was smug. Adrien knew Chloe all too well, and from the way the one-sided conversation was going as far as he picked up, Chloe would be ready to steamroll over Marinette’s new relationship status and technical fame. The two always had an unspoken rivalry—it was more like a one-sided beatdown with Marinette always putting the sassy blonde in her place—and things often took a turn for the messy. Adrien knew his childhood friend had been improving lately, but he suspected this was one of her relapse moments.

“Face it, Marinette,” Chloe sassily said. “It’s clear this is totally fake. People are making a big deal for no reason.”

“I’ve been trying to say!” Marinette exclaimed, leaving everyone in shock that she was technically agreeing with Chloe of all people. “Chat and I are friends, not lovers. Yes, we’re closer than strangers, but I do consider him my friend.”

“You’re just saying that because he saved you and carried you like a princess,” the blonde heiress argued, possibly trying to get the last word. “News flash, he does that for any girl he saves.”

“I know that…” Adrien heard Marinette whisper, his chest tightening at the sadness in her bluebell eyes. But he could only witness it for seconds before she steeled her gaze. “That’s not what I’m going off of. We’ve talked before, shared a conversation from time to time, and I even offered him some hot cocoa when I saw him and he looked sad. So yeah, he’s my friend.”

“I see you have a thing for strays then~ That totally makes sense. You only attract the attack of sidekicks. Everyone knows he’s nothing without Ladybug. Someone like you can never have the best, just second-rates that—”

“Shut up!” Marinette’s voice suddenly resounded, leaving everyone in the area in silence.

_Is it wrong to think that was hot?_ Adrien questioned himself, covering his pink cheeks until he willed them to return to normal. He’s never seen sweet Marinette so fiery before, at least in her civilian form.

“You can make fun of me all you want,” the blunette shouted, descending the steps and getting up in Chloe’s face, “but when you insult my friends, that’s when I get mad! There’s no Ladybug without Chat Noir! Have you seen their fights?! They support each other. They support one’s another’s weakness and come out being a great strength _together_! Chat Noir is no second-rate hero and I don’t even know how you came up with that! They’re both celebrated equally! Even Ladybug makes mistakes!” She finalized her rant by stabbing Chloe in the chest with her finger. “So don’t you dare insult him like that! You don’t know anything!” With a huff, Marinette spun on her heel, adjusted her backpack, and stomped up the stairs to her first class.

Everyone just stared in the general direction she went in, gaping in shock; all but Adrien, that is. He made himself as scarce as possible, his cheeks burning as his knuckles turned white while clutched the strap of his bookbag. Marinette made it clear she thought very highly of Chat Noir. She defended his honor right in front of him, even if she was unaware. And not only did it send his heart skyrocketing to the moon, but it only made him that much more attracted to her. But he couldn’t really think of that now. The model spent a good ten minutes trying his best to act as casual about the situation as possible before going to class. Even then, his mind couldn’t help but wander.

That night, Adrien decided to pay a little visit to the Princess as his alter ego. He had a good sense of when she would be done with patrol, so waited a few minutes before hearing the thump on her balcony and the words, “Spots off.” That must’ve been her detransformation phrase, like his was, “Claws in.” He waited just a bit longer until he made his grand appearance. After all, he still felt like he should keep the fact that he knew to himself for now. With a swift jump, Chat landed on Marinette’s balcony. He was a little surprised to see the trapdoor open, so he slipped inside. Once inside her room, Chat closed the door behind him and made himself comfortable on her bed.

“Good to see you got the hint, chaton,” Marinette commented as she sat on her floor, various fabrics and a couple balls of string surrounded her as she worked meticulously on yet another piece. She must’ve put her knitting project on hold.

“This cat is nothing if not a good learner,” the hero retorted, hopping off her bed and laying snapdragons next to her.

“Anymore flowers and I’ll have one of the oddest bouquets in history.”

“Maybe that’s the idea, Princess.” Chat winked. “A princess with a bouquet as one-of-a-kind as she is.”

The designer blushed as looked away, suddenly embarrassed but not uncomfortable. It gave Chat a good ego boost. He didn’t want to come on too strong, but that reaction proved he was doing things just right. He climbed down the ladder and sat cross-legged with her on the floor. They talked about everything and nothing, filling the silence with comfortable chatter and regaling funny stories.

“Let me put these in the vase,” Marinette said, picking up the snapdragons before standing up.

“Allow me, Princess,” Chat retorted before standing up. “Woah!” Unfortunately, he stood up a little too fast. When he moved a step back, he slipped on a roll of fabric he didn’t remember was behind him.

He heard Marinette gasp and prepared himself for the crash on the hard floor. But he felt something knock into his chest during the fall, leaving him on his hands and knees when he did make contact with the floor. He managed to prop himself up, grumbling in pain while his eyes were squinted closed. But when he opened them, Chat gasped. Underneath him, trapped between his arms and legs, was a blushing Marinette. She shielded him from the fall.

The air was thick with tension as the silence dragged on, green meeting blue as the two just stared at each other. All seemed calm, but inside, Adrien was freaking out inside. He was ready to profusely apologize to her, to insist that he could go and never come back because she is probably upset with him. But everything went blank and he was frozen stiff when Marinette’s lips met his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it’s late, but I’m working on more chapters as we speak. This one was just a challenge and took a while. Thanks for understanding!


	8. Kitty Kisses

Chat was frozen solid in his place as Marinette’s lips pressed against his own. It sent an electric jolt down his entire body. This wasn’t a dream, right? This was really happening? Just as the gears in his brain started turning again, Marinette was pulling away. The tips of her ears turned red and it trailed down to her neck.

“I-I’m so sorry!” the blunette apologized, frantically looking down at her fingertips as she pressed her index fingers together. “I-I don’t know what I was thinking, and it was the heat of the moment, and oh god, I must be making you so uncomfortable right no—”

Chat promptly shut her up by pressing his lips back on hers, a gloved hand cupped her cheek as his peridot eyes shut to savor the sensation. Marinette stiffened for a moment, but then he felt her relax and kiss him back. She wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him in closer. The two staying like that, carefully moving but never breaking. Soon enough, they needed air and broke apart, both panting as they caught their breath.

“Th-that,” Marinette stuttered, “th-that was…”

“Wow…” Chat finished breathily, not taking his eyes off her.

“Yeah…wow…” She didn’t look away from him either but didn’t know where to go from there.

But Chat knew how to lighten to mood. He leaned down and planted to tiny kiss on the tip of her nose. When she giggled, he kissed her nose again. She squirmed until her, laughing, as he peppered kisses all over her face; nose, cheeks, chin, eyelids, and forehead. The tension between them faded into nothing. Sure, they’ve have to talk about it, but Marinette was content just receiving the kitty’s kisses.

“I want to be with you,” the cat hero suddenly blurted out. Yet, when he registered what he had just said, he resolved not to take it back. He meant it to the bottom of his soul. He wanted Ladybug and Marinette; he wanted _all_ of her. He just needed that chance to prove it. Chat held out his hand and a dumbfounded Marinette took it. He pulled her up off the floor, standing up with her in tow. He took her other hand and intertwined their fingers, a gentle smile on his face. Her bluebell eyes widened, her grip firm in his.

“I…” Her voice wavered and his chest tightened. But then her gaze cleared as she stared up at him and she said, “I want to be with you too.”

“Oh Princess!” With his heart soaring above the clouds, Chat picked Marinette up bridal style and spun her around. She laughed and clasped her arms around his neck so she wouldn’t fall as he held her. They smiled happily until she got dizzy and patted him on the shoulder.

“I think I’ve had enough time on the Chat-Attack today,” Marinette said, stifling a giggle. But she was surprised when Chat tilted his head in confusion. “Oh. There’s this ride called the Yak Attack. It spins in circles really fast.”

“I’ve never been to an amusement park before,” Chat admitted sadly.

“Well, maybe we can arrange something sometime.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” the leather-clad cat purred, “Are you asking me on a date~?”

The designer’s cheeks reddened and she quickly averted her gaze from him. “I thought that would be obvious, considering you technically asked me out first.”

“I did, didn’t I?” Chat leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on her pink lips. “I need to go, but I’ll definitely come back. I have a pretty Princess I like to kiss.”

“I-I hope m-my knight in shining leather returns too.”

“Definitely.”

One final deep kiss later, Chat was gone and Marinette laid in bed with a goofy grin on her face. Taking on last look around her room, she snuggled into her sheets. _I have some redecorating to do._

* * *

Kissing slowly became routine for them. They ranged from sneaky little pecks on the cheek to making out while the movie they were watching quickly became background noise. He’d jump her and land in a surprise kiss, or he’d give all the signals, silently asking for permission. Most times, all one had to do was tap their lips and the other certainly got the message.

One particular night, Marinette and Chat were curled up in a blanket while sitting on her bed. They watched a mystery movie about a librarian who was part of a murder mystery book club and poked her nose into actual murder mysteries. _If you don’t want anyone finding out you murdered a family and stuffed their bodies in your attic, don’t sell the house_ , the two unknowingly thought in unison. Chat nuzzled his cheek against Marinette’s soft hair, finding their height difference quite endearing. She laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her waist, their gazes not leaving the movie.

When it ended, they decided to watch the rerun that followed, even though they knew exactly what happened. Chat lifted his gloved hand to her cheek, the coolness of the material making her lean into it. He turned her towards him and slowly leaned forward. Marinette rolled her eyes and met him halfway. It was funny how he still thought he needed permission to kiss her. They made their relationship status official, at least between the two of them, and Marinette even admitted she liked kissing him.

They leaned back until their heads hit her pillows, their lips still connected and bodies flush against each other. Chat ran his clawed fingers through her hair, her pigtails coming undone in the process. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed the little spot on the back on his head she was well aware made him purr. He really was like a big cat. They were content to stay like that. That was until something Marinette registered as definitely not Chat’s arm curled around her waist, pulling their hips even closer together. When she pulled back in surprise and saw what it was, she laughed.

“Oh my god!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m doing my best to catch up. I actually had my final class today so I’m free until my job starts back up in June. It’s a seasonal thing so I can focus on course work during the semester.
> 
> And the movie they watched is a legitimate one. It’s not a blockbuster movie or out on DVD. It plays from time to time on a single channel. So if you did know what movie I’m referring to, then major props to you!


	9. Belt Tail

Marinette giggled as Chat stared down at what she was looking at in embarrassment. His belt tail had wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. He didn’t even know when that happened. The end flicked slightly like an actual tail and Chat tried to will it to stop.

“How are you doing that?” the blunette asked curiously, observing his belt tail with interest.

“I have no idea!” the blonde proclaimed, as if he had just been caught committing some sort of crime. He tried to tug on the belt to make it let go of her, but it was like it had a mind of its own.

“It’s cute,” the blunette said with a giggle, taking hold of the buckle at the end of his tail.

Chat froze, his ears turning pink, squirming under her touch even if he couldn’t exactly feel it. She played with his tail, which she probably didn’t know made her look really hot in his eyes. Her just playing with his tail, her hair down and her nose scrunched up in concentration. It was like she was analyzing a new fabric or design with a sharp eye. Did he mention that he found her really attractive right now? Yes? Then it probably bares repeating.

“I-I…I sh-should…” The words were coughing in his throat, his cheeks still red under his black mask. “I-I think I n-need to g-g-go now…”

“Oh,” Marinette said in response, releasing his tail and looking at her digital clock. “It is getting pretty late, isn’t it?”

“Y-yeah. Someone might check on me.”

“Don’t worry Chat,” she said with a smile and pecked her boyfriend’s lips. “You have your reasons; I understand. I trust you.”

 _I trust you_. Her words rang in his head. He could more easily see the red mask over her eyes with those words. It almost made him want to bash his head in with how blinded he’d been before. She’s an incredible girl with or without the mask. He had always proclaimed that no one could compare to the perfect and brave Ladybug. But he was so wrong. No one could compare to _Marinette_ ; a talented, creative, kind, and brave girl that happened to fatefully be a superhero as well. As a whole, she was perfect, without a doubt.

Chat hopped off her bed, his back turned to her, and stretched for a moment. He took a moment to stay in that position as he could _feel_ her bluebell eyes burning holes in his leather-clad butt. He felt the need to jump back onto her bad and never let her go, blurting out how attractive he knew she was, especially when she was staring at him like he could feel she was. The blonde noticed something as he looked around the room to distract himself from her intense gaze that was doing some pretty _intense_ things to him. _That’s not the point, Adrien._

“Hey, uh, where’s all those photos of Mister Model?” he asked, pointing to her now bare corner wall. _That was subtle, right?_

“Well, it’d be kinda weird to have pictures of another guy when I have a boyfriend now,” she answered like it was the most obvious thing in the word.

She still didn’t know his secret, after all, and it was kind of ironic how she basically took down pictures of her boyfriend so said boyfriend wouldn’t think she was still crazy about her boyfriend. _This is more complicated than the love square that we’ve apparently been in this whole time._

“I figured it was time. Adrien only considers me as a friend, after all.” She stepped down her ladder and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, leaning her head between his shoulder blades. “I have you. And I…” she took a deep breath “I love you, Chat.”

Chat’s breath caught in his throat as he heard those words. He laid his hands over hers and gripped her hands, wishing at that moment that he wasn’t transformed so he could feel her soft hands in his. This was all he ever wanted; Ladybug to love him as much as he loved her. And here she was, as the girl behind the mask, the girl he found himself falling for twice, telling him she loved him.

“I love you too,” Chat whispered back, his thumb gently drawing circles on the back of her hands, leading her to let out a content sigh. He meant what he said. And he would spend every day for as long as it took to prove to her that he loves her as both Chat Noir _and_ Adrien.

* * *

The next day, Adrien overheard Alya talking to Nino. He wasn’t eavesdropping. He was just tuning in once Marinette’s name came up; big difference. Apparently, when Alya called about her jacket that she commissioned her best friend to design, the blunette sounded super chipper; something that should’ve been impossible given it was 7am when Alya called.

The door opened and something no one expected happened. Marinette, with a bounce in her step, strode into class while humming a little tune. Everyone except Adrien glanced up at the clock to double-check that it was indeed 15 minutes before class was supposed to start. All the blonde model could do was gawk as he observed what the sweet designer was wearing. She wasn’t in her usual flower top and pink khakis. Instead, what he saw made him force down his desire to jump over his desk and kiss her senseless

Marinette was clad in dark ripped jeans shorts, kitty cat stockings, and converse that had cat toes at the ends. The black hoodie she wore had green lining and cute cat eats atop the hood. To top the look off, a belt tail exactly like his swished behind her with each step. He had to bury his nose in his textbook so no one could tell how hot and red his face was getting at the mere sight of his secret girlfriend’s new look. _Girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend._ The word repeated in his mild, a purr emitting from the voice in his head. He was Marinette’s boyfriend. Well, half of him was. But he could change that. He loved all of her. She already loved all of him, even if she didn’t know that yet.

Marinette caught him staring at her, her beautiful blue eyes widening. She quickly recovered and waved at him with a content smile on her face. The blonde stiffened and waved back a little too enthusiastically, smiling so wide his cheeks hurt. The irony of the situation was not lost of him. He was losing that obliviousness with time around Marinette. Adrien was now behaving the exact way Marinette usually did around him, and she was brushing his awkwardness off with a warm smile like he would. She moved past him and quietly sat down, pulling out her sketchbook, pencil at the ready.

Adrien spun around so fast that he winced at the pain in his neck. But he pushed that down and regarded Marinette with a big grin. “Goo moring Marinette!” Well, this officially sucks. “I-I mean good morning, Marinette! I like your outfit.”

The blunette looked up from her sketchbook—he wondered why she was covering it with her arm—and smiled at him. “Good morning, Adrien. And thank you. I was really inspired last night.” She said it with such a fond smile that sent his heart into overdrive.

 _I’m so screwed_ , Adrien thought as he turned back around to hit his embarrassment and the swell of pride bubbling inside him.


	10. Catnip

Marinette was still wearing her hoodie when Chat came over that night. He found her at her desk with her special bouquet in front of her, she was intensely analyzing it and then doodling something in her sketchbook. She looked like a true designer at work. Chat made just enough noise when he entered through her unlocked trapdoor so his girlfriend would know he was there—it was confirmed when Marinette waved at him without looking away from the bouquet. He crept up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling the top of her head with his cheek. The blunette giggled and slightly leaned against him. While she did, he outstretched his arm above her head and gently placed his give in the vase with his clawed fingers.

“A pink tulip,” Chat briefly explained, “because…” He stared down at her lips, pursed in a thin line as if daring him to make a pun and see what happens. So, like a gentleman, he took the risk. “I love when our _tulips_ meet~” he said with a self-satisfied grin, hid hold on her never faltering and his belt tail swishing happily. Her disapproving groan only made him smile wider.

“You’re so lucky you’re cute,” Marinette grumbled into the palm of her hand.

“Ironic how a black cat got lucky,” the hero commented jokingly, laying his chin on her shoulder as she scratched behind his fake cat ears.

“Because you deserve it,” she whispered.

His hold on her tightened a little, his heartrate picking up at her words. Instead of saying anything, Chat tilted his head—closing his eyes and pressing his nose against the nape of her neck—and breathed in.

“Are you sniffing me?” the designer asked with a giggle.

“Well, every cat has their catnip,” Chat answered, “and you’re my catnip. I’m addicted to you.” He cracked one eye open to see Marinette’s adorably reddened cheeks. “So what are you up to, _purrincess_ ~?”

He loved how Marinette’s eyes suddenly lit up. She always did love talking about her designs. “I was actually drawing up some new ideas for dresses based on the flowers you gave me.” Her hand reached out and delicately touched the new addition, caressing the tulip’s petals with careful fingers. “And now I have something new to go off of. Thanks, chaton.”

Chat purred happily. “See? I’m helpful!” He leaned in closer, taking in her smell of vanilla and freshly-baked bread.

“I never said you weren’t,” she replied, rubbing his neck which emitted a purr from him.

That was how they spent the night until he had to leave. He was draped over her, sniffing her like she was the most addictive catnip on the planet. She nuzzled him back as she sketched out her ideas for dresses, accessories, and more. Before he left, Chat unexpected pulled her hood over her and hood planted a deep kiss on her lips, which she returned once getting over her surprise at the gesture. He didn’t need words to show her how much he loved how she was wearing his signature colors, like a mark of sorts. She was off the market, and she was _his_.

* * *

Adrien flopped onto his bed after detransforming and changing into his pajamas. He grabbed his pillow and pulled it close, then squealed into his. Plagg could see the tips of his Chosen’s ears turn firetruck red in the dark. It was a wonder it wasn’t used as an emergency signal. The blonde just spluttered unintelligible noises into his pillow for a few minutes, kicking his legs like a teenage girl whose crush told her she looked nice today.

“Why did I do that?!” Adrien yelled into his pillow, muffled enough that no one woke up but loud enough for Plagg to hear.

“It’s a cat thing,” the little god explained, “Cat’s mates often smell better than catnip to them.”

“M-m-mates?!” the model suddenly exclaimed, sitting up straight and clutching his pillow to his chest.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir aren’t always soulmates,” Plagg explained, “but most of the time, they are. And I have to tell you, you have the cheesiest, romance-novel level of soulmate syndrome I have ever come across!”

_Soulmates, huh?_ Adrien thought, his peridot eyes glazing over in deep thought. If someone had told him a year ago that he and Ladybug were soulmates and she would be dating him, he would’ve jumped so high into the air, it’d leave a Chat-shaped hole in the clouds. But now, it spread a warm sensation through his entire body. It felt comforting and nice. He didn’t need to excessively flirt or use his name to get recognized by Marinette. She saw him for who she is, and it made him want to smile so wide until his cheeks hurt. His daytime fantasies were still filled of a beautiful blunette. But inside of red spandex and a mask, she wore a variety of her latest designs, like a black cat hoodie. The blonde’s head kept racing as he laid back onto his bed and closed his eyes, his dreams filled with Marinette.

The next day at school proved to be interesting. Marinette showed up in the black cat hoodie once more, leaving him in a lovesick daze. _That’s right boys; she’s all mine_ , the primal side of him purred loudly in satisfaction. He looked over his shoulder from time to time as Marinette drew in her sketchbook. But he was curious as to why she was covering it with her arm. A secret project maybe?

“No way!” Alya suddenly exclaimed, snatching the sketchbook out from under Marinette.

“Hey!” the blunette exclaimed, reaching for her sketchbook while Alya kept her back with the palm of her hand.

“This is just too good! It proves everything!”

“What proves everything?” Nino asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

“This!” Alya turned the sketchbook around and Adrien’s breath hitched as he came face to face with…himself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! It’s Mother’s Day weekend and I’ll be spending it with my family! Have a happy Mother’s Day weekend everyone!


	11. Are you...doodling Chat Noir?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m preparing for the anime convention while writing these.

Well, it wasn’t _himself_ , himself. But it was still his face nonetheless. In Marinette’s sketchbook was different sketches of Chat Noir. They came in different angles and expressions. They were all extremely detailed, down to the last shadow. Alya flipped through the pages towards the back. Pages upon pages had Chat Noir as the model, posing for different outfits. They were also very well done. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve suspected Marinette was making an exclusive Chat Noir line for her fashion brand.

“Wow,” Adrien couldn’t help but gasp in complete awe. His cheeks were dusted pink as he realized that, by technicality, his secret girlfriend was using him as the model for her men’s designs. His cheeks dusted pink as that little fact began to settle in.

Before Adrien could say any more, the sketchbook’s owner snatched it back. She slammed it shut and jammed it into her backpack, a crimson blush adorning her cheeks. “It’s nothing!” she protested and sat back in her seat with a huff.

Adrien and Nino turned back around as class had begun, Ms. Bustier leading the first discussion of the day about Shakespearean comedies. Adrien tried his best to take notes, but seeing as he couldn’t focus at the moment, he at least tried to not squeal like a total doofus in front of all his friends. Marinette was drawing _him_. And with that level of detail, she obviously had kept her eye of him for quite a while. She even got the little dimples he got when he smiled too wide just right. It was clear she noticed the little details about him, the aspects of himself that never made it on camera. They were parts of the real him, the side he most often showed as Chat Noir. He heart was pounding in his chest. His Lady, _His Princess_ , really noticed him in ways no one else really tried to. The blonde spent the whole class lost in his own thoughts, subconsciously swatting away Nino’s hand whenever his friend tried to get his attention. Well, he had a few little facts he could bring up as Chat Noir tonight.

* * *

“Hello, my purrincess~!” Chat purred as he caught Marinette off guard, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. He noticed how she squeaked and pulled her sketchbook closer to her chest, most likely to hide her drawings. The blonde hero didn’t bring up the topic right away, lest it tip her off to his identity. Instead, he just stayed there for a few moments behind her as they both sat on her lounge chair, rocking her softly as her head leaned against his chest and kissing her head every once in a while.

“So what were you drawing before I got here?” he decided to ask, surprising even himself how easy he was to make it sound like he just wanted to make conversation.

“I spruced it up just before you came,” Marinette whispered, holding her sketchbook out to give him a view. “I wanted you to be the first to see it, but my friend got her hands on it before I could stop her.”

_So that’s why she was so upset this morning_. “That’s okay, Princess. Just the fact you made me something made me feel like I jumped over the moon.”

The designer tilted her head upward to fix him with a smirk and raised eyebrow. “Isn’t it supposed to be ‘the cow jumped over the moon’?”

Chat feigned a gasp, covering his mouth with his clawed hand and quickly removed it when he spoke. “ _Princess_! I can’t believe you! That is animal profiling right there.”

Marinette shook her head, her shoulders bouncing as she giggled. “Okay, that was kinda funny. I’ll give you that.” She opened up her sketchbook three-quarters of the way and looked back up at him. “Ready to see?”

He had already seen it this morning, but he didn’t want to disappoint her by refusing to see. Why would he refuse? Oh, because he’s Adrien, the guy she had a total crush on before dating that crush without even knowing it. Crazy, huh? _Okay. You can do this, Adrien, he thought to himself. Acting is similar to modeling. Put on a smile and say she’s amazing_. When she opened the book, he didn’t need to act surprised. The few 20 pages were ones he’d not seen. And he was beyond stunned. “Is that me?!” Chat blurted out, even though the answer was obvious.

“I-It is,” she shyly answered, curling into him from embarrassment. He let out a purr to comfort her, which it did, as told by the content smile on her face. “I h-hope that’s a-alright…”

“Are you kidding?! It’s more than okay! Look at this detail! You do care, princess!” Chat pulled her even closer and nuzzled the top of her head with his cheek. “Do you think you could make me that jacket on the first page?”

“You mean this one?” She flipped to the page he mentioned, pointing to the back view of the design. The jacket was meant to be a leather-like, almost pleather, material—real leather was expensive. The cuff matched Chat’s well and the trimming was solid green. The back of the jacket had a huge green paw print with the words “Knight in Shining Leather” written inside with black thread.

“That’s the one! Although, I only have one adjustment suggestion.” She looked at him, confused. “I want it to say ‘Property of a Purrincess’ instead~!”

“Chat!” Marinette laughed and playfully smacked his chest, but he also laughed and held her hand in place.

With his hand around her waist, he pulled her closer. She got the hint and leaned in, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. They poured all their feelings for each other into it, Marinette sitting in Chat’s lap as they kissed. He shyly licked her lips with his tongue, causing her to stiffen a little, but she relaxed and parted her lips. But before they could go any further, they both jumped as Marinette’s phone buzzed on the table next to them.

“Is that the time?!” Chat shouted in a panic, seeing the time on her phone. “Oh no, I’m so dead!”

“I-I’m so sorry, Chat,” the blunette profusely apologized.

“No need to apologize, princess,” the hero replied, pecking her forehead before hopping onto her railing.

“Will you be back?”

“I’ll do my best, princess.” He jumped over the railing and hurried home, praying to any god that was listening that he wouldn’t be too deep in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be cosplaying Mae Borowski from Night in the Woods at Anime Central this weekend! My friend will be Beatrice Santello! MaeBea!
> 
> I honestly can't wait! I don't know if anyone else is going there, but I'd love to know if you are.


	12. Touch-Starved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double upload will be coming your way soon. I’m making progress, slowly but surely.  
> I posted a cosplay photo on [my Tumblr](https://cutelittlepixie.tumblr.com/) and [my Twitter](https://twitter.com/amuletrebel), so check those out in you’re interested. I’ll be going as Mae Borowski and my friend will be Bea Santello. I’ll post a photo of us together when she comes over this week.  
> See you all soon!

Three days. It had been three days since he had been able to see Marinette on her balcony. When Adrien came home, he saw Nathalie in his room, so he decided to sneak in through the back door. Hopefully, she’d believe she just missed him grabbing a small midnight snack in the kitchen when she went to check on him. Unfortunately, that didn’t go so well, and Nathalie didn’t buy it. His father grounded him for three days.

Three days! Three days he had to go without holding her hand and kissing her sweet lips. If that wasn’t bad enough, Adrien had to see Marinette at school for the three days. He wanted to slam him head into the wall. Just seeing her and needing to resist the urge to run up and kiss her senseless felt like an unnecessary amount of torture, so what was one head bruise on top of that?

On the first day, she made the spontaneous decision to wear some lip gloss, being able to smell its strawberry scent went he got close enough. He so hoped she had worn it for him (well, Chat). But then his heart sank as he realized he couldn’t visit her that night since Nathalie and his father had taken care to check up on him at the oddest of hours. Sneaking out at this point was impossible. So no strawberry kisses for him. The second day was progressively worse, at least for him. The designer decided to wear the jacket he commissioned her to make. Once he saw the back of it, Adrien realized it was a _matching one_! The words instead the paw read “Purriness” with a bejeweled tiara on the P and a tail off the s. Everyone in the room looked at him in surprise when he stood up just a little too abruptly, banging his knee under his desk.

“I’m okay!” he quickly said to brush off the subject. “Bathroom.” With that only word, Adrien exited the room and leaned against the wall with heavily breath, willing down the pounding in his chest. Just seeing her in that jacket, wanting to match him, only made him that much more in love.

By the third day, he was officially touch-starved. Granted, Marinette would pat Adrien on the shoulder, leaving him to swoon as she walked away, but it wasn’t enough. Fleeting touches were no longer enough. Short glances were no longer enough. He just wanted to be with her. Once he got his freedom back, he’d go out of his way to spend as much time with this princess as possible. The ideas came to his head in waves, and Adrien immediately took out a sheet of paper to write down his ideas, making sure to keep it hidden from wandering eyes (aka Alya and Nino). He would waste no time transforming the first chance he got when he was ungrounded and heading over to see the love of his life.

* * *

Marinette curled up on her lounge chair as she sipped on her tea, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. It had been three days since Chat Noir showed up on her balcony. She missed him. It wasn’t just because he was officially her secret boyfriend now. That was a given. He had come around so often that she’d grown so comfortable with his presence. It had become such a constant in her life that being without his presence felt a little…cold. She waited in that spot for a couple hours now. With a sigh, the blunette stood up and straightened her clothes. Just as she opened her hatch and prepared to go inside, a resounding thump behind her lifted her hopes. That hope was not in vain because when she turned around, there stood Chat Noir with a Cheshire grin.

“Princess!” Chat exclaimed and tackled her.

She squeaked and fell back through her trapdoor, miraculously landing right on her bed without a single scratch. She blushed and he nuzzled the crook of her necks; and she giggled when his messy blonde locks tickles the skin that was exposed since she was wearing a tank top. Marinette ran her hand through his locks while the other hand gently scratched his back. It seems both of them had been touched-starved.

“I never want to let you go again,” the blonde muttered into her shoulder, his arms tightening around her waist as they both lay on her bed.

“I wish you didn’t have to,” she whispered back, kissing the top of his head.

Chat stiffened as he smelled a familiar smell when she did so. “Is that…strawberries…?”

Marinette blushed and trained her bluebell eyes toward her wall that was not cluttered with design drawing instead of Adrien Agreste photos. “Um, well…Alya recommended I get this new lip gloss and, um…I tho—mmph!”

Chat Noir suddenly assaulted her lips with kisses, drowning himself in the taste of strawberries and Marinette. She eagerly kissed him back, her palms coming up to caress his cheeks. She hooked an ankle around Chat’s leg to keep him in place. But he made it quite clear he didn’t want to go anywhere. He wanted to curl himself around her, anything to say “you’re mine” without words. They pulled back for air before immediately connecting their lips again, and again. Neither was willing to let go after three days of being deprived of this level of intimacy with one another. Chat rolled off of her and lay at her side, still holding her close to his chest as she listened to his heart that beat for her. They didn’t realize it, but they slowly drifted to sleep, feeling comforted by the warmth they head to spend three days without.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll probably do a NSFW version on this when I have the time and am all caught up, because I really, really want to. You don’t know how bad I had to restrain myself.


	13. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Prepare for the angst  
> I had to listen to a lot of angsty music for this. (Evanescence does the trick so well. That and metal music for some reason.)

The heavy rain beat against Adrien’s face as his feet pounded against the concrete of the sidewalk. His lungs screamed at him to stop and rest, but he couldn’t; not now. He had to keep going. Adrien quickly rounded a corner, almost twisting his ankle in the process, but he kept going. He had to get there in time. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t lose someone so precious to him; not again.

He wouldn’t make it on his own two feet. He stopped caring if someone was watching at this point. “ _Claws out_!”

Chat Noir leaped up to the rooftops and continued racing to his destination. Why did it feel like the farther he went, the more distance there was to get there? The hero frantically propelled himself from roof to roof, his cat eyes wildly searching before him. His heart was ready to beat out his rib cage. A bright light sent Chat staggering to a stop, covering his face to shield his eyes from the blinding light. But when the light dissipated and he was able to see again, Chat gasped. All he could see was fire. Paris was engulfed in flames.

“ _Marinette_!” the blonde screamed out as he rushed to find his love.

This was his fault, no one else’s. He should’ve considered the consequences. It just felt so warm. She was warmth and light in human form. He was selfish, never wanting to let her go. He wanted her to love him just as much as he loves her. But now… He shouldn’t have taken the risk. Chat should’ve realized how risky it would be to date a civilian as his super hero persona. It ultimately put a giant red target on her back.

His search took him to the Eiffel Tower. What he found made his heart drop to his feet and shatter like thin glass. She was just underneath, struggling to rise. Her arms trembled but sent her crashed to the ground. He could see her heavy breathing from what he was. Tears pricked at his peridot eyes as he jumped down and rushed to her side, holding her in his arms.

“ _Princess_ …” he whispered, pulling her closer to his chest. “ _I’m so sorry, Marinette_ … _I’m so sorry_ …”

Blood trickled down her forehead, staining the grass below a crimson red. It oozed over her left eye, essentially gluing it shut. Only one glassy bluebell eyes stared up at him, clinging to that last bit of light. Even through the pain, she smiled brokenly up at him. Marinette laid a gentle hand on his cheek, staining his skin with her blood.

“ _Don’t be sorry, mon chaton_ ,” she whispered, “ _I wouldn’t trade what he had for anything_.”

“ _But_ —” Her thumb moved over his lips, shushing him. It wiped the tears freely running down his cheeks.

“ _No, Chat. Don’t apawlogize_.” She giggled weakly, then coughed violently, his body shaking as he witnessed how much blood she coughed up.

“ _Marinette_ ,” Chat whimpered, his grip never loosening. His tears blurred his vision. “ _I love you… I always have… Don’t leave me behind. I’m begging you_!” He couldn’t see her through his tears. He wanted to see her clearly. He refused to believe these were her last moments, but if they were, he wanted to see her clear smiling face one last time.

“ _Chat… Chat._ Chat!”

Chat gasped before bolting upright. His breathing was labored as he frantically took in the scene around him. This wasn’t his bedroom. It wasn’t the Eiffel Tower, either. As his racing mind and pounding heart returned to normal levels, Chat realized he was in Marinette’s room, on Marinette’s bed. Right next to him was Marinette, concern evident in her bluebell eyes.

“Chat,” she whispered, “Are you okay…?”

By this point, Adrien didn’t bother holding it in. Marinette looked at him in shock as he sniffled, tears falling down his mask and cheeks, dripping onto the sheets.

“Princess,” he whimpered and tugged her close, wrapping himself around her as he cried. “I felt so helpless…”

Marinette silently moved her arms snugly around his waist, stroking his back in a comforting motion. “You don’t have to talk about it now. When you’re ready, you can tell me.”

She felt him nod into her neck. He kept his grip on her and she kept trying to soothe him. His hitched and labored breath slowly came back to level as she stroked his back and hummed a little lullaby to him. Her shoulder was soaked with his tears, but she couldn’t care less about that.

“In my dream,” Chat started and Marinette patted his back to signal that she was listening, “I learned you were being targeted. I ran and ran. I…I couldn’t find you anywhere… Suddenly, all of Paris was on fire… And you… And you…” The blonde took a deep yet shaky breath, willing himself to continue. He knew how painful it could be to keep things in. “I found you…under the Eiffel Tower… You were weak…and bleeding… I couldn’t do anything but watch you die!” He pulled her as close to his chest as possible. “I had to watch the love of my life slowly fade away…because I didn’t consider being with you could make you a target.”

Suddenly, Marinette’s hands were on his cheeks and she made his green eyes meet her bluebell ones. “I love you, Chat. I’ll gladly take the risks. Because after the time we spent together, I’d rather love you and die in a year than to spend the rest of my life without you.”

“You don’t—”

“I do mean it,” the blunette firmly stated. “I mean it with all my heart and soul. Never doubt how much I love you.” She laid a gentle kiss on his nose and offered a warm smile.

His heart melted in her warmth and he found himself smiling back. “I purromise, Princess~”

Marinette giggled. “There’s the chaton I know.” She looked to the bed for a quick moment. “Stay; just a little longer.”

“I’ll be okay now, Princess,” Chat politely declined. “I don’t want to spend another three days without you. That was torture enough. I’ll be back tomorrow night, though.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” Chat kissed her gently and quietly left through the trapdoor.

Marinette finally fell sleep about a half hour after he left. Unbeknownst to her, that was about the same time Adrien fell asleep in his own bed as well. They both had tiny smiles on their faces. Adrien’s dreams were drastically different than before. Fire was replaced with warm sunshine. Rain was replaced with healthy spring grass. And a dying Marinette was replaced with Marinette, clad in a pink sundress, happily smiling at him from under an apple tree on a hill. And he couldn’t have been happier. He silently promised to turn that dream into a reality one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sniffling* I’m not crying! You’re crying! Okay, fine, I’m crying!  
> I had to dive into the angst with this one. The prompt was Nightmares! I can’t exactly make a super fluffy chapter with something like that. There’s only a couple other angsty prompts, but those I can make less…angsty…  
> I’ve almost caught up! Booyah!


	14. "I Told You It Was A Bad Idea To Do That."

Adrien whistled a happy little tune as his car drove its short distance to school. When Nathalie asked him why he was so chipper that morning, he simply shrugged and said he had a good dream last night. It was half the truth, but it was still the truth. After suffering through his nightmare earlier that night, he was given one of the best dreams of his life when he fell asleep again.

In his dream, Marinette sat on a picnic blanket on a hill. She sat in the shade under the apple tree. There were three children playing at the base, chasing Plagg and what he could only assume as her kwami while laughing. He watched them as he made his want up to Marinette and sat beside her. Adrien held the blunette’s hand gently, the wedding band on her fingers glistening in the beams of sunlight that broke through the tree’s leaves. His heart swelled as he looked down at it. She giggled and gently kissed him. Then, she opened the picnic basket next to her and set out the food. And before he woke up, something she said really got to him. “I’m glad I taught you how to make some of these. I can really taste the love. I’m sure the kids do too.”

Okay, it wasn’t the most poetic thing his mind had conjured up, but it was still very significant. It made him want to do more for her than just buy her things. Yes, she said she appreciated his gestures with flowers, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to be more involved in her hobbies, her aspirations, and her _life_. He knew she loved fashion, and he kind of had that down, being the son of her fashion icon. Then again, she never really cared about that fact. He remembered her confession when she realized that she made his favorite scarf. Name had nothing to do with her love for him. It was his kindness and generosity that attracted her. The only other thing he could think of was her baking hobby. The answer on what to do was obvious.

When Adrien got to school, his giddy attitude showed as he bounced enthusiastically on his heels. Alya and Marinette were sitting on the steps. Just seeing her made him happy, especially after his dream. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just run up to her and scoop her up into his arms. Marinette and Adrien were just friends; for now. But Marinette and Chat Noir were an item; albeit a secret item, but still an item. It wouldn’t be all that odd if her boyfriend asked her to share some of her hobbies with him. She shared most of her homemade pastries with Chat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had one of her homemade treats as Adrien.

“You okay, dude?” Nino’s voice came from behind, making him jump in surprise. He quickly recovered, feeling Nino’s hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the model answered with a nervous smile, “Why do you ask?”

The DJ gave him an incredulous look. “Well, for one, you’ve been standing here, stiff as a board, staring at the school doors. Second, I’ve been calling your name for two minutes and you just continued to stand there, gaping like a fish.” But when he looked over at where Adrien had been staring before and smirked “Oh, I see now, dude~”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His peridot eyes shifted away shyly. “Let’s just get to class.”

“This ain’t over though, dude,” Nino said with finality and walked after Adrien as he went to class.

* * *

That night, as Chat and Marinette cuddled and watched a movie, Chat decided to voice his thoughts. “You don’t have school tomorrow, right?”

“Well, it is Saturday, chaton,” Marinette responded with a giggle.

“Right, right. Anyway,” he gently rubbed her shoulder, careful not to scratch her with his claws, “I thought I should get more involved with what you do.”

“I’m already making you a jacket. You’re the model I use for my sketches. What, you want me to use you for fitting now?” She let out a breathy giggle and nuzzled his chest.

The hero laughed and jumped off her bed with her in his arms. He set her down and stepped a couple feet back. “As _pawsome_ I would look in just about anything,” Chat flexed for her, his heart floating as he made her laugh, “I was thinking of something else.”

“Like what?” the pigtailed girl asked, her head tilted in confusion.

“Baking!” Chat enthusiastically answered. He blushed and shifted on one foot. “Y-you know, I kinda want to do more c-couple things with y-you…”

“Awww! How sweet~!” Marinette smiled and hugged Chat. “Alright, chaton. I’ll teach you some baking recipes.”

“What’s your favorite?” Chat asked.

“Oh~ So that’s your game~” the blunette cooed conspiratorially. “I should’ve known you have ulterior motives~"

“Why, Princess. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Chat turned his back and crossed his arms in a pouty manner. But the big smile on his face went unseen by his girlfriend.

He heard her laugh and felt her arms around his waist. “You know I love you. No need to woo me with food.”

Chat smiled and laid his hands on hers. “I love you too.”

* * *

The next day was actually a lucky day. Marinette informed her parents that Chat asked her if she could teach him how to bake. They happily accepted and even let their daughter use the bakery’s main kitchen since it was well-stocked. The blunette went so far as to make a couple simple aprons for her and Chat from the spares she found in the bakery’s storage closet. When everything was prepped, Marinette went up to her room for Chat to arrive, leaving her hatch open so he could just tumble in.

Meanwhile, Adrien snuck into the bakery’s alley. He had convinced his father to let him go out. He might’ve lied and said he would be at the park with his classmates for a school event. He was just lucky his father bought that, even if Gorilla drove his there and then left to return near dinnertime. But once Gorilla left, Adrien immediately ducked into a space he could transform without notice. News reporters would have a field day if Chat Noir was bounding city rooftops when there wasn’t an akuma attack.

“Plagg, claws out!”

Chat jumped up and swiftly landed inside Marinette’s room. He bounced off the bed and landed perfectly on his feet. With a sweeping bow, he greeted her. “Hello, my purrincess~ What are you doing–” When he looked up, she was nowhere to be seen. “–today…”

He looked around and spotted something hanging on her chair. On top of it was a note. Chat walked over to it and opened the note. It read, “Mon Chaton, I thought we’d start off our lesson with a little gift. A good baker always wears one. Love, Marinette.” When the blonde hero picked up the gift, he noticed it was a solid green apron. Little black pawprints moved across the bottom and at the top, in curly letters, it said “Meowvelous.”

He hugged it tight, and then put it on. Chat bound down the stairs and to the bakery below. Marinette was waiting for him in her own apron. He had to admit hers looked much cuter. It was light blue instead of green, complementing her porcelain skin perfectly. It had little black pawprints along the bottom as well. And in curvy letter, it read “Cakes and Cats.”

“Princess!” Chat exclaimed and tackled her in a hug, knocking them both to the floor. “Thank you! It’s purrfect!”

“You’re welcome mon amour,” Marinette answered, causing his to blush. She called him ‘my love,’ and that meant the world to him. “Let’s get started then~” She moved out of his arms and opened a cookbook. “We’ll make some simple cupcakes.”

“They look like cats!” Chat exclaimed when he saw the picture. The cupcakes had triangular chocolate to make ears and black icing on top of the white icing to make whiskers, eyes, and a mouth.

“Right you are, Chaton,” designer said with a smile. She shifted through the things on the counter. “Okay, so we have sugar, eggs, milk—don’t even try drinking it—a dab of sour cream, and of course– Oh…” She frowned as she looked into a large porcelain container.

“What’s wrong?” Chat asked.

“There’s not enough flour in the jar,” Marinette answered, showing Chat the one tablespoon worth of flour in the jar. She sighed and set it down. “I’ll need to ask Dad to get the new bag down.” The blunette pointed to a shelf and on top was a huge sack, most likely containing float.

Never missing the opportunity to impress her, Chat leaped at the chance. “No need, Princess! I’ll get it.”

“How are you—Chat, no!”

Chat got onto the table and positioned himself towards the sack, looking ready to pounce.

“This is a bad idea, Chat! Don’t do it!”

But Adrien didn’t listen and took the leap. Unfortunately he miscalculated his footing and ending up dangling from the high shelf. His claws dug into the sack as he slipped and crashed to the floor, bringing all the flour with him. Marinette and Chat were covered in the flour as it surrounded the area like a thick white fog.

They both coughed and when Marinette was able to open her eyes, she glared at Chat. Chat chuckled nervously, dusting the flour out of his hair as he stood. When he looked down, he noticed his black suit was so covered in flour, it was almost completely white. If not for the splotches of black, he would’ve believed his suit was white.

“Check it out! I’m Chat Blanc!” Chat tried to lighten the mood by posing for her. It worked because Marinette started giggling.

“I would’ve said a zebra with a stripe dysfunction, but Chat Blanc sounds catchier.” She brushed some flour off his shoulder. “I told you it was a bad idea to do that, but no. No one listens to me. Now come on minou, we can clean this up and get back to work.”

And that’s what they did. Sabine came in a silently laughed at them, giving them the tools to clean up. Once all the flour was cleaned up and Marinette’s dad brought so clean flour up for them to you, they got to work. Chat liked to lick frosting from her cheek while she would put some on him and refuse to clean it off. Chat was the one who put the chocolate ears on and Marinette iced on the details. When their hard labor was done, all that was left to do was taste test.

“I’m sorry again, Princess,” the model in disguise apologized once more after taking another bite of his cupcake.

“You wouldn’t be a budding baker without a mess,” Marinette replied in an almost sagely tone. “I had a good laugh, so it all worked out in the end.”

“But I will make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to, minou.”

“I want to.”

Marinette knew at this point there was no winning with him when he got hooked on an idea. “Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next is Chapter 15. It's the chapter I want to do the most!


	15. Ridiculous Romantic Gestures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter! I waited so long! I listened to a playlist I have labeled as Romance for this chapter, and I legit almost started crying!

After the baking taboggle, Adrien decided to go all out to make it up to her. For the next couple days between visits, Adrien as Chat Noir prepared the excellent date plan. Sure it took a few close calls and using his hero persona to pull some strings, but Adrien made sure it would all be worth it in the end. He had to try extra hard to be tight-lipped about his plans whenever he saw Marinette at school. She smiled and laughed at him like usual, but he could see the blush that crept up her face whenever he even so much as mentioned anything that pointed to his alter ego. Seeing her reactions sent his heart skyrocketing. _Oh yeah, it’ll definitely be worth it._

A couple nights of final touches and Chat was officially ready to show his pretty princess what he had planned to make up for the “Chat Blanc Incident” as they dubbed it. The hero leapt across the Parisian sky which sparkled with stars. He could even see a few constellations. Finally, he saw the light of her balcony. She was waiting for him as usual, reading a book with a blanket wrapped around her. Her hair was down for a change, a neon green headband tucking any loose strands away from her delicate freckled face. This confused him somewhat. He had told her to be ready for an adventure the night before. Why wasn’t she ready?

Chat landed gracefully onto her banister and hopped down onto her balcony with a knightly bow. “Good evening, my princess~”

“Good evening, my knight,” Marinette greeted with a content smile.

“Are you ready for a grand, and possibly over-the-top, romantic night out with your knight?” He extended a gloved hand out to her, which she took without hesitation, the level of trust she held for him as both sides evident in her bluebell eyes.

“One second, minou.”

She took off her blanket and his breath hitched. She wasn’t wearing Chat-inspired clothes or her pajamas under the blanket. She wore a lilac cold shoulder top with black lace decorating neckline and bottom, paired with jean shorts bedazzled at the pockets and lilac flats with a tiny bow stitched into them. They practically looked three-dimensional, like real bows. The ensemble was finished with a cute neon green choker around her neck, a tiny silver bell attached to it. It didn’t make any noise, so she must’ve removed the ball. Chat couldn’t breathe. Is this what heaven looked like? Because if so, then he _definitely_ died happy.

“Now I’m ready.”

Her melodious voice snapped him out of his daze. He shook his head, still gaping. “W-wow! You just… You look… _amazing_!” _Come on, brain! You can do better than that! You’re Chat Noir; the smoothest cat in Paris!_

Marinette giggled. “Thank you. It took a little bit of subterfuge for you not to find it, but your reaction made it worth it.”

“Hey, I’m supposed to be surprising you tonight.”

“There’s still time for that, mon chaton.” She playfully flicked his bell, causing a blush to rise to his cheeks.

“W-well, let’s go then!” he squeaked, mentally bashing himself for losing his cool. He was supposed to be romantic tonight, not a blushing incoherent mess!

Chat pulled her in close and held her bridal-style. It brought back memories of that first akuma attack, just before they started dating. Looking back, he was almost grateful for that akuma, helping him figure out his feelings for the fantastic girl behind the mask. Marinette secured her arms around his neck, nuzzling his chest. He kept his grip firm as he hopped across the night sky. It reminded him of that night Glaciator attacked, when he essentially ditched Marinette to plan a date for, well, _Marinette_. And he felt down for Ladybug not showing, so he decided to show Marinette his surprise date, unknowing that Ladybug did in fact show up in that moment. Adrien couldn’t believe how stupid he had been then. But now he had time to rectify those mistakes.

It might’ve been the source of his nightmare, but he wanted to turn it into a happy place. Chat brought her to the Eiffel Tower and set her down. “Keep your eyes closed,” he instructed, and led her by the hand. She followed him without a hint of doubt. “Okay. Open your eyes.”

When her bluebell eyes opened, they instantly widened in surprised. Marinette gasped at the sight. It wasn’t just any room she walked into. It was the famous apartment hidden inside the Eiffel Tower, decorated with flowers and candles. She could tell the candles were fake from the lack of burning wax, but from the smell, the flowers were very much real. Purple roses lined almost every inch. Marinette wasn’t someone who had an in-depth knowledge of flowers, but she knew that purple roses meant love at first sight and deep enchantment.

“Chat…” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes. She turned around and through herself into Chat’s strong arms. “Thank you! It’s so beautiful!”

Chat chuckled, the vibrations of his chest making Marinette smile. “Well, Princess, this isn’t even the best part.” He moved out of the way and pulled out a small speaker, pressing play. Gentle music resounded around the room and Chat held out his hand once more. “Will the princess grace this undeserving knight with a dance?”

Marinette smiled and stepped closer, taking his hand. “Yes she will.”

Chat wrapped his other hand around the blunette’s waist while she placed her on his shoulder. The gracefully moved around the room, never bumping into anything or tripping. He twirled her a couple times and she laughed merrily. The world around them seemed to disappear, just the two of them remaining. Marinette laid her head on his shoulder and he used his arm to pull her closer, laying his head on hers as they danced. Even when the music ended and they were left in silent, the two lovers swayed gently to their own music; their heartbeats.

“I have one more thing,” the blonde muttered, just loud enough for her to hear.

Marinette pulled back in shock, but she wasn’t at all angry. “More? Chat, this is already ridiculously romantic! How could it possibly top this?”

Chat held her hand firmly in his, staring at her with such adoration in her green eyes that Marinette shifted in embarrassment. She never thought someone could love her as fully as Chat did. She hoped Adrien would’ve, but she realized that there probably wasn’t a chance of that.

“You underestimate me, Princess~” The black-clad hero took her out of the apartment and out onto the bridge, underneath the starry sky. She pulled her in close and pointed out into the distance at a bright star that didn’t have any other star twinkling around her. “See that star?” Marinette nodded. “Well, I managed to do a little research, and now that star is officially named Marinette.”

“What?” Marinette looked at him skeptically. “You’re kidding.”

Chat shook his head with a cheesy grin. “This cat puns. No kidding here.”

He pulled a piece of paper out from behind him and handed it to her. The blunette opened it and gasped. He really wasn’t kidding. It was right there, in official print. A star was named after her. The evidence of such a claim was right in her hands.

“Chat… You are the most ridiculously romantic cat I’ve ever met in my life.” Tears of joys flowed down her cheeks as she hugged the paper to her chest. “Why? Why go to such extreme lengths for me? I would’ve been fine with just the flowers or something.”

Chat laid his gloved hand on her cheek, brushing a loose strand of inky hair out of her face. His smile melted her heart and made it pick up speed all at once. “Because” he leaned down so their eyes could meet at the same level “I know a bright light when I see one. And I want to give her everything she deserves and more.” He bumped his forehead against herself gently, his smile never wavering. “I love you, Marinette. Let me love you as fully as I do.”

He leaned in and kissed her, which she happily reciprocated. She wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands settled on her waist. They shared a passionate kiss high above Paris. It really was the city of love, bringing two souls such as them together. They didn’t need anything else in that moment, just drowning in one another’s love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now I’m caught up with the days. Well, now I move on to writing about 5 more chapters between tomorrow and Thursday. I’ll be at Anime Central in Illinois this weekend, so I want to be able to post a chapter Friday morning before I leave and double upload on Sunday when I get back. I won’t have my laptop on me or be around a computer I can use to upload on Saturday.
> 
> This is my longest story and I’ve become VERY passionate about it. So expect more soon!


	16. Cuddles, Petting, and Nuzzles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read all the reviews last chapter and I’m so happy you liked it! Actually, it is possible to name a star if you where to look and how to go about it. There are billions of stars in the universe, so there’s a lot that don’t have names.

The two had to break apart for air, but their foreheads touched as their heavy breathing slowly returned to normal. Neither spoke a word, mostly because they didn’t need to. Chat gently rubbed circles with his thumbs while his hands lay on her waist. Marinette smiled softly and gently scratched his neck near his hairline. He purred softly, causing her to jump slightly.

“Did you just…purr?” the blunette whispered, breaking the silence. _So he did purr that time on the train._

Chat spluttered and looked away in embarrassment. “N-No way! Y-You’re hearing things!”

“Really now~?” Marinette slyly reached up and scratched his scalp, right behind his left faux ear. The hero stiffened but immediately melted afterward, the rumbling in his chest heard loud and clear. “There it is~”

“Princess,” Chat whined, but nudged her hand with his head to make her keep at it nonetheless, “that’s cheating!” He nudged her hand again and she continued to pet his head.

“You exposed yourself to me, chaton,” she answered teasingly. “As your girlfriend, I have every right to take advantage of it.”

Chat suddenly grabbed her hand and took it off his head. Marinette raised an eyebrow in confusion. But then Chat brought her hand down to his face. He placed a featherlight kiss on her palm, causing the blunette to turn beet red. And his eyes. Oh, god, his eyes! And he dared call her making him purr cheating. His peridot irises looked up at her through half-lidded eyes, his black mask adding something a little sultrier to the look.

“Well, Princess,” the blonde intentionally purred, sending a shiver down her spine, “how about a compromise?”

“C-c-compromise?” Dang! She was stuttering!

“Yup! You can pet me all you want, if and only if…” He paused for dramatic effect. “You continued to give me cuddles!” He launched himself at her, wrapping her in big hug.

Marinette began giggling, which turned to a full-blown hearty laugh. “You’re such a dork!”

“But I’m your dork, Princess~”

The blunette’s laughter died down into a heartwarming smile. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his nose, feeling both his skin and the material of his mask on her lips. “Yeah, you are. And I couldn’t be happier.”

A sudden breeze made Marinette shiver, which Chat took notice of. “Let’s get you home, Princess.”

He made a motion to grab her hand, but she quickly pulled away. “Hold on!” she protested. She shuffled back into the secret apartment and came back out not even a minute later. “Okay, now I’m ready. Just needed a memento.” Her bright bluebell eyes twinkled like the stars as she held up a single purple rose. “I don’t want to spot my bouquet’s growth either.”

“In that case, I might as well buy you a flower shop!” Chat took her hand, gave her a little twirl, and pulled her flush against him.

Marinette giggled and playfully smacked his chest. “By the way you’re talking, you make it sound like your filthy rich.”

Chat chuckled, swallowing down the nervousness as she said that. He couldn’t exactly tell her that he, in fact, is filthy rich. That would lead to questions. How many filthy rich blonde boys with green eyes were there in Paris, really? Probably a minimal number. Then the results would be narrowed down to one Adrien Agreste. He wanted to reveal his identity to her. He truly wished he could. But something deep in his gut told him that now wasn’t the time. The right time would come. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck once more, securing herself as he scooped her up bridal style. He leapt across the night sky, taking one last glance at the star named Marinette before focusing on the journey ahead. Admittedly, he took short glances at the Marinette in his arms. She was nuzzled against him, her head against his shoulder blade. Her eyes were closed and he could hear breathe in his scent, then nuzzle herself closer to him. Chat wondered what he smelled like to her. Her scent often reminded him of freshly baked bread and vanilla. What did his scent remind her of?

“You smell nice,” she muttered, unintentionally answering his thoughts, “like…morning dew and lavender.”

His cheeks turned pink as he held her close. “You always remind me of vanilla and bread. Perks of being a baker’s daughter, I guess, huh?”

Her answer was a simple hum of agreement. The two finally landed on her balcony, but Chat didn’t let go. Instead, he kept a firm hold on her and moved down into her bedroom through her trapdoor. The model in disguise laid his girlfriend down her bed. She mumbled a thank you, expecting him to kiss her and leave like usual. She didn’t want to go a few days without him again, so it was for the best. But what he did next shocked her, although she didn’t exactly show it clearly in her facial expressions. She couldn’t see him given how dark her room was, but she felt him. He crawled into bed next to her enveloped her in his arms, laying his head on her chest.

“Claws in,” he muttered and Marinette held back a gasp.

She quickly screwed her eyes shut. The bright green light that flashed over her closed eyelids alerted her to his detransformation. When the light faded, the blunette dared take a peek. She held in a breath of relief, as to not raise questions. She couldn’t see his face with the room so dark. But she kept her gaze on the ceiling to lessen the risk of seeing his true identity.

“Claws in?” she questioned in a whisper, playing dumb.

“It’s dark, so you can’t see my real identity,” Chat whispered back, tightening his hold in a tender manner. He nuzzled her chest, breathing softly. “I want to stay a little longer. I just wanted to hold you as me…”

“I understand, Chat.” Her heartbeat quickened as she petted his head, the purr still remaining. _I guess that’s just a him thing, not just a Chat thing_. “You can stay.”

“Thank you, Princess.” A moment of silent passed by. “I like it; the sound of your heartbeat that is.”

“It’s beating for you,” Marinette said without hesitation.

“That makes me so happy. You don’t know just how happy that makes me.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The two held onto each other as their real selves, the selves they showed to each other without fear of judgement.

“I made you something,” Marinette whispered. “It’s the paper on my desk. You can get it when you leave. But…let’s just sleep for now.”

“As my Princess commands.”

Marinette fell into a blissful sleep while Adrien took a short nap. Plagg woke him up around 3am, handing him the paper Marinette said was for him. Adrien put it into his shirt pocket and crept out onto her balcony, transforming in the process. Chat propelled himself home and through his open window. Detransforming, Adrien plopped down onto his bed and gently laid Marinette’s gift on his bedside table. Tomorrow, he had late photoshoots and no school, so he could check it out more thoroughly then. With a yawn, the blonde nuzzled his pillow and fell into a Marinette-induced sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Anime Central is less than a couple days away. My friend is staying over tomorrow so we can get to the con together more easily, so I'm hoping to write and post tomorrow's chapter before she gets here. I only want to have Friday's chapter at the ready so I can post it before we head out to ACen, which by the way is pretty early given transportation time and checking into a hotel. You learn about convention planning and methods the more years you go to them.  
> Enough of my rambling. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	17. Heartbeat

Sunlight streamed through the ridiculously large windows. Adrien groaned and rolled onto his side to block the light from getting in his eyes. He pulled the covers over his head in an attempt to get more sleep. But alas, it was not meant to be. Adrien reluctantly sat up, running his hand through his messy blonde locks. His hazy green eyes scanned his room, the nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him he was supposed to do something. It wasn’t until half-lidded eyes landed on his nightstand that he was jolted awake.

“Marinette!” he exclaimed, making a grab for the paper she gave him. Unfortunately, he was too fast when he reached out for it. His foot caught and twisted in the bedsheets, causing him to fall out of bed and right onto the floor. “Ow…” He rubbed his head in agony, groaning softly.

Adrien pulled himself up back onto the bed, promptly ignoring Plagg’s snickers emanating from the trash bin. He took the sticky note and read that first. It said, “Mon Chaton, I originally made this to thank you for being a good friend, but I we’re definitely more than that now. I made sure to finish it up before whatever plans you made for us.” Unfolding the bigger paper, the blonde gasped. He knew Marinette was a good artist, but anyone could tell how much care and time went into the piece. It depicted him as Chat Noir and Marinette. They were dining at a cozy bistro under a blue umbrella. He had a pastry in front of him while she sipped on a cup of tea. There were both smiling, and Marinette’s expression was nothing short of loving as she watched Chat laugh, probably recounting a funny story. Finally, in the bottom right corner, “Je T’aime” was written elegantly in pink pen, the ‘i’ dotted with a heart.

“She’s amazing,” the blonde whispered, still looking down. A tear slipped down his cheek and onto his hand.

“You okay, kid?” Plagg asked as he floated over to his Miraculous holder, seeing the tear.

When Adrien looked up, a genuinely happy smile adorned his face. “I’m perfect Plagg. This is more than I ever thought I’d have since…” His voice trailed off, images of his mother holding him close coming to mind. When he father started giving him the cold shoulder, Adrien never thought he’d find someone who’d love him as unconditionally as his mother did.  A few tender moments with his father did lessen those thoughts, but they didn’t dissipate them.

But with Marinette, he felt… _alive_. He felt real, like he mattered more than kings and queens. He felt light as air, more than willing to make a total fool of himself to see her smile just because. He felt deeply and truly loved, no strings attached. Marinette loved both Adrien and Chat for what was in their hearts; _his_ heart. She expressed how she loved his kindness, selflessness, loyalty, understanding, and yes, even his punny sense of humor. The blonde held the paper closer, careful not to crumple it. Marinette deserved the whole world. He’d give her his world without a second thought. She deserved choirs singing her name and poems dedicated to her.

“That’s it!” Adrien exclaimed, springing up from his bed and to his desk, still in his pajamas.

“What’s it?” his kwami asked.

“I’ll write Marinette a poem to show her how much I appreciate her!” He was giddy inside, grabbing a pen and paper, ready to get to work. Now he just needed a starting point; an idea of some kind.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Plagg floated down and sat near Adrien’s hand, giving it a pat. Normally, he would gag and fly away from any hint of romance, but seeing his Chosen so happy after all he’s been through made him bite back any snarky remarks.

Adrien smiled at his kwami. “I do, Plagg. I love her. I love her eyes, her laugh, her smile, her—” Then, it struck him. “Perfect!” His hand flew across the paper, writing new words and scratching out old ones. This was only a draft, and he’d polish it up and make it look a little fancier later. The words flowed from his mind and heart, straight through the ink into physical form. After finishing, the blonde rewrote the poem onto construction paper in more graceful writing. His heart quickened just thinking about Marinette’s reaction. He laid a kiss on the final product and hid it away so no one else could find it. His father would have a field day with him if he found out his son, a country-wide famous model, was secretly dating. The explanation for how he came to date would be even more difficult.

* * *

That night, Adrien prepped his gift to ensure it wouldn’t be ruined by any unforeseen conditions. “Plagg, claws out!” For once, Plagg was happy to help.

In a matter of minutes, Chat landed on Marinette’s balcony, gift behind his back.

Marinette was lounging on her chair, apparently waiting for him. Her hair was back in their usual pigtails. But when he saw her, his heart constricted. She was staring down at her plate of pastries with a blank stare. He knew that look all too well. Something was eating up at her. And if she was feeling negativity, then… Chat discretely scanned the area and breathed a sigh of relief when there wasn’t a sign of an akuma around.

“Princess…?” He cautiously approached her, warning her of his presence.

His footfalls were just loud enough to break her out of her thoughts. “Oh. Hello, chaton.” She mustered up her best smile, which Chat frowned at. It was mixture of genuinely glad to see him, but also broken because she was afraid to share her burdens. The blunette gasped when her kitty suddenly embraced her. “Chat…?”

“I can’t say it’ll be okay,” the hero started, “because I don’t know what happened. But I do know how strong you are inside. Even if you cry, you’ll eventually rise again. I love you, Marinette. Let me be there for you.”

“…Okay.” Marinette smiled softly and held Chat back, his gloved hand smoothing out her hair. Her eyes closed for a moment, reveling in his touch. But when they opened, she noticed something. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the paper on the wooden floor.

“Oh!” Chat exclaimed, releasing his hold on her and making a grab for it. “It’s a present for you. I saw the drawing. This is my way of saying thank you.”

Marinette accepted the card her handed her, running her hand over it before opening it. She let out a little gasp when she saw what it contained. It was a poem. At the top was the title; “Heartbeat.”

_Your hair is like the night sky._  
_Your smile outshines ever star._  
 _And when I look into your eyes,_  
 _I want everything you feel and are._  
 _When I’m with you,_  
 _My heart picks up speed._  
 _When I hear yours do the same,_  
 _I know for sure you’re all I need._  
 _I’ll give you my world and more._  
 _To the ends of the earth I’d run._  
 _My heartbeat exists for you._  
 _Much like the moon exists for the sun._  
 _Love, Your Chaton_

Marinette launched herself at Chat, tears of pure joy in her eyes. “Thank you!” she chanted. “Thank you! I love it! I love _you_!”

“I love you too, Princess.” He spun her around, her feet a few centimeters off the ground. She giggled and he smiled just hearing the beautiful sound. “So, ma chérie, what had you so upset?” He gently wiped her tears with him thumb.

Marinette went silent, and then she took a deep breath. “Well…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am leaving you on a cliffhanger. Find out what happens next (hopefully) tomorrow! I’ll be at ACen on Saturday, so you won’t have anything that do. I hope I can double upload on Sunday. I told you this, right? Okay.
> 
> And that poem is an original written by—you guessed it—me! If you do choose to use it for whatever, give credit where credit is due. Thank you~!


	18. Bodyguard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I decided to post this early. I value my sleep, therefore, I’m posting now so I don’t have to get up at 5am to post. I honestly just want to have a good time at the convention without worry.
> 
> Thanks for understanding!

“So you saw a spider, tried to capture it, but you lost track of it, so you ran up here crying?” Chat asked, summarizing her predicament with a teasing smile.

Marinette’s cheeks puffed out, dusted pink with embarrassment. She brought her knees to her chest and looked away from him. “I knew you’d laugh at me,” she muttered.

Chat gently laid his gloved hand on her shoulder. “Trust me, Princess. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just relieved it’s nothing serious.” When her bluebell eyes pinned him with a glare, he blanched and backpedaled. “I-I mean nothing as serious as an akuma attack or something! I’m not saying your problem isn’t serious, because it is!” _Is this your attempt at comforting her?_ A little voice in the back of his head said mockingly. _Because you’re blowing this astronomically._ “Never fear, Princess, because you have a humble knight to serve as your bodyguard from the treacherous eight-footed beast that roams your castle.” _Please make her laugh. Please make her laugh._

Sure enough, the blunette responded by covering her mouth with a giggle. “My brave knight,” she commented, inflating his ego. Then there was a moment of silence. “Well…?”

“Well what?” It only took a moment for her meaning to sink in. “Oh! You want me to go…?” He pointed to the trapdoor.

“Awww, is my big brave bodyguard just as scared~?” Marinette teased.

“Psh!” Chat waved his hand nonchalantly, playing up a carefree attitude. “Not me. Just get me a paper towel and a cup.”

Marinette stood up and moved in close to Chat, as if to whisper a secret. “I would, but I’d have to go through my room. And if I did that, then the horrible monster might capture the princess. You don’t want that, do you?” She ran her hand up his arm and onto his shoulder with a smirk, making him a puddle of goo in her hands.

“N-no I don’t,” he stammered, his voice a smidge higher than normal. Then he coughed to feign something in his throat and to return his voice back to its usual pitch. “I’ll be right back,” the hero hurriedly said and zipped into her room, a giggling Marinette left on the balcony.

“Okay, Mr. Spider,” Chat muttered, looking around the room. “You’re upsetting my Princess…s-so you’ve gotta go.”

“Doing okay down there?” he heard Marinette called.

“Spectacular!” he called back. “I’m just on the foul beast’s trail; stalking it like a sly ninja!”

“I thought you were a knight~”

“I’m a cat of many talents, Purrincess~” Chat suddenly froze when something landed on his head. He wasn’t too worry about it at first, but when it started moving, and Chat could see thin legs, and ear-piercing scream rang out through the night.

* * *

Marinette handed her boyfriend a fresh cup of cocoa and snuggled up to his side and he sat there, frozen and traumatized. When she had heard Chat’s yelp of terror—she was never going to let him live that down—she rushed down to her room in a panic, completely forgetting why she wasn’t going in there in the first place. She took in the sight of Chat clinging to the wall with his claws, shivering in fright. His green eyes were wild yet trained in one spot. Marinette followed his gaze and shrieked, but the Ladybug in her kicked in when she saw her kitty in trouble. She grabbed the plastic cup she originally took to deal with the spider and a random piece of blank paper, jumping into action. Marinette had quickly scooped up the spider and let it out on her balcony to never return.

And now, here the two were, drinking cocoa to forget the escapade. Lucky for them, Marinette’s parents were out on a last-minute delivery for a midnight party, so they wouldn’t have to suffer the sound of Chat screeching in horror. Marinette gently rubbed Chat’s back to soothe him while he rocked back and forth while he whispered “crawling, legs, scary” on a loop. She giggled softly. Was she a bad person for feeling comforted by Chat’s fright? Probably, but she couldn’t care less at the moment.

“You’re still my big brave bodyguard,” the blunette whispered, her sparkling eyes trained on him with such love and adoration.

“Th-thank you, P-Princess,” he stuttered, his shivers slowly coming down. He looked back at him with pure love, taking her hand and rubbed the back with his thumb. “After all the excitement today…it makes me wish…” He sighed. “Never mind.”

“Wish what?” Marinette questioned curiously. “You can tell me. Let me be there for you.”

Chat inwardly groaned. That so wasn’t fair. She wasn’t allowed to use him own words against him. Was she? “I just wish…I could hold you…as my civilian self. I want to hold your hand without the suit in the way… I want to hold you close and feel your warmth against me… But I know the risk of secret identities and I…”

The pigtailed girl sat there for a moment, contemplating. Then a lightbulb went off in her head. “I have an idea! I’ll need a little time though. Can you come back tomorrow night?” Chat was blind-sighted for a moment from Marinette’s excitement. He could only nod dumbly until the gears in his head decided to turn again. What was she planning? She smiled brightly. “Great! I should get started. Good night, Chat! See you tomorrow~!” She hurried down her hatch. Leaving Chat dumbfounded, even as he leapt home, wondering what she could be planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, again, I’m posting this early because I’ll be busy tomorrow. If you check out my Tumblr and Twitter, I’ll be posting pics of the event, along with pics of me and my friend’s cosplay. If any of you go to Anime Central, then I hope you have fun too! I’ll be back on Sunday!


	19. "I made you a mask to wear out of the suit"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M BACK~! Anyone check out the awesome con pics I took while I was gone? I saw an amazing Miraculous Ladybug cosplay! It was Ladybug and Chat Noir, but as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo mask! It was so well done!  
> And BOW DOWN PEASANTS! I met Adrien Agreste; Bryce Papenbrook himself! Unfortunately, his signing had a no photos policy, so I just took a picture of me holding up the Adrien Agreste art I bought that he signed. He was really nice too. Apparentlty, he's the one who comes up with Chat's cat puns in the dub!
> 
> I won’t talk your ears off about this. On with the show!

Curiosity took hold of Adrien; well, curiosity and the urge to see Marinette again. And so, as the next night drew night, the model decided that, even with all the gifts they had been presenting each other, he should still keep the tradition they had going. He asked Gorilla to stop at a local flower shop on the way home. He went so far as to carefully hide the Gardenias in his bookbag so his father wouldn’t find out.

And when the night came, the moon high in the sky, Adrien suited up and flew across the rooftops as Chat Noir. As per the new routine, Chat landed with a soft thunk on Marinette’s balcony. He noticed the hatch was open and climbed through, closing it behind him like usual. He wondered what Marinette’s surprise was. And he grew ever more curious when he found his Princess hunched over her desk, her hands moving quickly. When the sound of the hatch closing echoed through the room and Chat placed the Gardenias on her bed, the blunette immediately sprang up, her eyes sparkling as if she received the best present in the world.

“Chaton!” Marinette exclaimed and ran to him.

Chat opened his arms just in time for her to launch herself into his loving embrace. Her behavior was certainly differently, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. He nuzzled his cheek on the top of her head and she giggled before pulling back to look at him excitedly.

“Hello to you too, Princess,” the leather-clad hero said with a happy grin. “So what’s this surprise you had planned for me?”

“I’m glad you asked!” With a bounce in her step, Marinette stepped out of the hug and skipped over to her desk. She held up an item that made his eyes widen. In her hands was a piece of leather, but not just any kind of leather. It was cut and shaped to look exactly like the mask he wore. “I remember what you said…about wanting to just be with me without the suit and everything. So I made this! It’s a mask you can wear while out of the suit!”

Her proud grin made him want to smile back. But, unfortunately, the logical side of his brain just had to ruin the moment with one little flaw. “What about my clothes? What if they become recognizable to you? You can tell a lot about a person by what they wear, especially if it’s unique; like your clothes, for example.”

The happiness in her smile never left. “I thought about that too. So I made something to go with the mask.” She reached under her desk to pull out an open box. Holding it out to show him, Chat peered inside. It was a black hoodie with a single green pawprint on the chest and cat ears on the hood. “You can put this on and we won’t need to worry about clothes. I didn’t know your measurements, so I took a wild guess…u-using a, uh, r-reference.”

“Reference?” Chat asked with a tilt of his head.

Marinette shifted, twiddling her thumbs. “I, um, have this friend. He’s a model…so I thought…I’d use him as reference. Y-you’re about his height and build.”

The blonde flushed at her statement. She was thinking about him (as Adrien) when she made this for him (as Chat). He delicately took out the hoodie and held it too his chest, choking back a sob of both gratitude and regret. Adrien was so happy that Marinette was willing to go to great lengths for him. She made him a special disguise so he wouldn’t have to be transformed all the time; so he could hold her hand and feel her soft skin. But he regretted not noticing her sooner; for being blinded for his infatuation with a mask instead of the girl who went to great lengths just to see him smile.

What would’ve become of them if Adrien had been the one to ask her out instead of Chat? He wouldn’t need to worry about secret identities. They could take walks in the park, hand in hand. They could’ve gone to cute little cafés—heck, even a measly Starbucks—and shared a drink or dessert while staring into each other’s eyes. They could go to the movies and he could sneak a kiss in the dark. He could introduce her to his father and go on and on about how perfect and talented she is. He could’ve brought her out in broad daylight and shouted, ‘This wonderful girl is all mine!’ without a hint of remorse.

But being Chat, he couldn’t do all those things. He could only take her on nightly trips. He could only spend a few hours a night talking in her room. There was certainly nothing wrong with that. But he loved her so much that he wanted to do so much more with her. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, _love_ her as both sides of himself. But…he was afraid. He wasn’t afraid she’d be disappointed. That fear dissipated when he learned Marinette had a crush on him as Adrien, and now she proclaimed her love for Chat. But therein also lay the problem. Marinette spend a good chunk of their time together talking about her love life and the boy she wished would notice her. He could only imagine the shock and possible hurt she would show when she learned she was talking about the love of her life to the love of her life.

A hand of his cheek broke him out of his thoughts, causing Chat to jolt and look up. He saw concern swimming in his Princess’s bluebell eyes. It was only when she rubbed her thumb on his cheek that he felt the wetness. He was crying. “F-Forgive me, P-Princess,” he choked out. “This is just the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. I’m sorry I spend so long lost in my thoughts. I’ll wear this all the time. But…” he held the hoodie back out to her “could you keep it here? I don’t want anyone learning of my secret identity. I don’t know how my father will react when he finds this and asks where I got it.”

“Of course,” Marinette answered with a nod, taking the hoodie back and placing it in the box. “I totally understand.” Her reassuring smile had him smiling back. What did he do to deserve such a brave and understanding girlfriend…?

“I have to go now, Princess. But I’ll be back tomorrow, alright?”

“Mhm.” Marinette pulled him down for a kiss before he left. He blew a kiss her wave before jumping off into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I was going to make the last prompt angsty with an akuma attack in the mix, but then my drastic fear of spiders came up in a conversation I was having with a friend over text, so I decided to use that to my advantage. I’m glad people found it so funny. I’m trying to up my humor stats.
> 
> Tomorrow will be an angsty prompt. So be prepared to break out some tissues.


	20. "I thought I lost you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready to cry.

The next day proved to be…odd. There was a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was rare for those feelings to arise, but Adrien learned to trust his gut, especially during his time as a superhero. He was proven correct when the building began to shake at random intervals. At first, everyone suspected it to be a rare earthquake. However, the akuma alert went off. Miss Bustier helped evacuate the students off the premise so they could get to safety, or at least a place where the ground wasn’t shaking.

Adrien stayed behind to transform. As soon as neon green light engulfed him and the indestructible black suit covered his body, his sensitive hearing picked up a familiar shriek. Marinette! Chat jumped to higher ground to search. His heart leapt in his throat when he finally spotted his pigtailed love, trying desperately to pull her foot free from a crack in the ground. Just overhead, an akuma proclaiming himself to be “Quaker” was cackling and pointing his scepter to the ground, the ray emitting from the object causing the ground to break open. Chat looked on in pure fear as he saw a rapidly growing crack make its way toward Marinette, threatening to swallow her whole.

It was instinct to leap toward her. “Marinette!” he shouted, reaching out to her. He didn’t have enough time judging by the crack’s acceleration. So, he followed his impulses in that moment. Chat grabbed Marinette, pulling her foot out, and tossed her to safety. However, even with his agility, he wasn’t fast enough to save himself. The ground opened up beneath him, causing his body to plummet to the depths.

“ _CHAT NOIR!_ ” he heard Marinette’s voice cry out in terror before all he could see was darkness.

The pigtailed girl scrambled to the huge gap in the earth, ignoring the pain in her ankle from suddenly being pulled out of its containment. Her bluebell eyes were wide with fear. She desperately called out his name down into the abyss. But she received no answer. _No… He can’t be…_ Tears trailed down her cheeks as her body shook with despair. Marinette wrapped her arms around herself and wailed. Tikki, still in hiding, patted the back of Marinette’s neck sympathetically. The blunette suddenly stood up and aggressively wiped her tears away. Crying wouldn’t bring Chat back. She just hoped her Miraculous Ladybug would, clinging to desperate hope that the one she loved was still alive down them.

A fire filled Marinette’s eyes as she ran to hide. “Tikki, spots on!”

Ladybug leapt up into the air and knocked Quaker right out of the sky. The rage bubbling inside her overtook her senses. But in a way, it made her stronger. She would avenge Chat, dead or not. She through her yoyo at Quaker, taking hold of the scepter. He gripped it tight and tried to pull it out of Ladybug’s hold. But he wasn’t strong enough and it slipped from his grasp. The spotted hero caught it in a tight grip and broke over her knee. But no akuma flew out. She figured as much. At least his main defenses were down. The playing field was a little more even now. At least no other civilians could get hurt.

Just before Quaker could attack her, a silver object conked him on the head, leaving him dazing. Ladybug gasped as her eyes followed the object, an overwhelming amount of relief taking her. There, atop the building, was Chat Noir, standing tall and proud. Was…was he okay?

“Sorry I’m late, milady,” the black-clad hero greeted with a smirk. Then he looked to Quaker. “I kinda took this guy’s powers for _granite_. But I’m back on my feet now.”

Her expression went flat. Yup. He was fine. “Good to see you, kitty,” the spotted hero greeted back. “Let’s take him down.”

Their movements were in perfect sync as they attacked, leading him away from the concrete street and to the park. Chat used his Cataclysm to burst open a nearby fire hydrant, which softened the ground enough to make Quaker lose his balance. Ladybug used her Lucky Charm, a watering can, to add extra moisture to the mud around Quaker, essentially making it like quicksand and trapping him in the ground. Ladybug yanked the toolbelt from around his waist and tore it, releasing the akuma. After the akuma was purified and Miraculous Ladybug reverted the damage, the heroine choked back her tears as she held out fist. After all, Marinette (and Marinette alone) was the one to see Chat fall, not Ladybug. So it would be suspicious for Ladybug to be concerned.

“Pound it!” the said in unison, completing their routine fist bump.

“Gotta go!” Ladybug quickly said and swung off before Chat could get a word in.

Chat was partially confused, but knowing what he knew, he wasn’t completely surprised. He fell into that gaping hole right in front of Marinette. But since she didn’t know that he knew her identity, he figured she thought he would be suspicious if Ladybug showed too much concern for Chat by asking how he survived the fall. Honestly, he just got lucky. After getting over the shock, he extended his baton to catch himself between the hole’s walls. He had more time to concentrate as he bounced himself off the walls and back up to the surface.

The hero was broken out of his musings when a familiar voice called out to him. Chat only had time to blink before a warm body collided with him, almost knocking him off his feet. The dark hair in pigtails he was able to see only confirmed his belief that it was Marinette. He took a quick glance around the area to make sure no one was around. Lucky for him, he had moved himself to a secluded area; a hiding place if you will. The sound of sniffles caused his green cat eyes to dart to his lady love. Chat scooped her up in a comforting embrace, soothingly rubbing her back as her hiccups and broken slowly became less frequent.

“I was so scared!” Marinette sobbed, her hands tightly gripping the back of his suit, tear tracks staining her face. “I thought you…you…” Her cries resumed as she buried her face in his chest. “Promise me… Promise me you won’t do that again…”

“What, Princess? Save you?”

He felt Marinette shake her head. “Don’t make me think I lost you. I honestly thought you left me…”

“Shhh,” Chat softly hushed her, “I’m here now, Princess.” He couldn’t stand seeing her in this much pain, especially because of him.

“But you almost weren’t!” the blunette suddenly shouted, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. “You risked your life to save mine!”

“And I’d do it again,” he simply retorted, the seriousness in his gaze holding firm.

“You didn’t have to! I wasn’t worth the risk! You have Ladybug to back you up and—”  
  
“But you are Ladybug.” Chat’s eyes widened and he suddenly slapped his gloved hand over his mouth. Did he really just…?  
  
Marinette’s expression shifted to shock as she looked him straight in the eye. All she whispered was, “W-what did you say…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you crying yet? I bet you gasped at the end, huh? I’ll keep working on this story. I need to catch up since I was out at ACen. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it possibly made you cry.
> 
> Fun Fact: I wrote this while listening to Red Like Roses Part II from the RWBY soundtrack. It’s a really good song for angst with a fight scene. Trust me.


	21. Civilian Has A Day With Chat Noir

Time froze as Chat’s eyes stared down into Marinette’s in horror. Did he really just say what he thinks he said? It was a spur of the moment thing! He just blurted it out when he heard ‘Ladybug’ come out of Marinette’s mouth. This was not how he wanted their grand reveal to go, not by a long shot. Marinette took a step back out of his hold, her expression unreadable. A chill whooshed through him at the lack of her warmth.  
  
“Princess,” he cautiously whispered, slowly reaching out to her. He looked like he’d just been slapped when she pulled away from him.

“How long…?” Her voice was just above a whisper.  
  
The ears atop his head flattened at the coolness in her tone. “Not long, I swear!” When she curled up on herself, he took another step forward. “Please, Princess. You have to believe me.”  
  
Her bluebell eyes were hidden in the shadow of her bangs and her grip tightened on her arms as she held herself. “Is that why…?”  
  
“Why what?”  
  
“Why you agreed to date me!” Chat instinctively flinched when Marinette’s voice rose. “Because I’m Ladybug? Because you love ‘your lady’ so much? You didn’t see Marinette at all, did you? You saw the mask.”  
  
“What? No! Marinette, that was never—”  
  
“Chat Noir!” a voice called out, making both of them freeze. Marinette took the opportunity to slip out of sight when the cat-themed hero turned his head. But when he whipped his head back a second later, he visibly sagged when he saw that she wasn’t around.  
  
Andre Bourgeois approached Chat and shook his hand rapidly. “You saved the day once again, Chat Noir!” The mayor looked behind, eyes searching. “But…where is Ladybug?”  
  
“Oh!” Adrien’s brain started forming any excuse it could form. Words culminated and shot out of his mouth before he could stop them. “Well, my Bug had a bug, so she had to swing out fast! She’s not really feeling well, so yeah…”  
  
“Well then, give her my regards. And we are still on for the contest, yes?” Andre held his hands together and leaned in with a hopeful expression.  
  
“Yeah, the contest!” Chat gave a model smile, internally sweating from nervousness. _I have no idea what you’re talking about._ “Of course I haven’t forgotten! I just, um, need a rundown of how this is gonna happen. Just to be safe.”  
  
“Of course!” the mayor exclaimed, visibly pleased. Chat covered his sigh of relief to not draw suspicion. “One lucky civilian will be chosen over live broadcast. Their name is in an envelope I marked for the occasion. The lucky civilian will call in and have a fun day with Ladybug and Chat Noir. Well, I guess it’s just Chat Noir since Ladybug isn’t feeling well.”  
  
“Y-yeah.” He felt like this conversation was going in circles. “Well, this cat needs to make like a banana and split! So…bye!” With an uncharacteristically awkward wave, Chat bound off to the Agreste mansion.  
  
When Adrien arrived in his room and detransformed, he took a running start before he jumped and faceplanted onto his bed like a big blonde mess. “She hates me,” Adrien’s muffled voice groaned.  
  
“She doesn’t hate you, kid,” Plagg said matter-of-factly, chomping down on his Camembert on the coffee table.  
  
The model’s head shifted so he was looking at his kwami. “And how would you know?”  
  
“Trust me. I’ve seen real hatred in my eight thousand plus years of living.” Deep green met peridot as the little god of destruction floated over to the bed. “Usually, I convince my holder to not transform for selfish and stupid reasons, but I can grant it this once. Just go and talk to her.”  
  
“Haven’t you been listening?!” Adrien complained. “She doesn’t want to talk to me! I wouldn’t even get the chance…” He miserably plopped his head back onto his soft pillow.  
  
“Yes you do. You already know how. Use that perfect blonde head of yours and the information you got recently.”  
  
Adrien turned toward his kwami once again, his eyebrow arching in confusion. “What you do me—“ Suddenly, it clicked. “Oh. _Oh!_ ” The young model sprang up from his bed. “That’s it!”  
  
Immediately after dinner, Adrien rushed up to his room, feigning it as eagerness to practice piano since he’s ‘really been committing to it.’ Instead of doing that, Adrien suited up and leapt out the window, his route all planned out. This was a terrible idea. It was a horrible idea. But it was the only thing he could think of to get Marinette to talk to him.  
  
It was actually quite easy; easier than anything he’d seen in spy movies. Guess the mayor was either really careless or too lazy to install high security. He was gonna go with the former. Chat slunk into the office and began his search. He opened a drawer and found an envelope marked “Hero Day Winner.” Bingo. The hero, currently cat burglar, pulled it out. He carefully removed the seal and stuck in onto the envelope he prepared, including copying the signature on the real envelope onto his. With that complete, he shut the drawer and scurried home as fast as he ever has.  
  
Adrien, both from the rush of what he’d just done and terror that this plan might fail, didn’t sleep a wink that night. Luckily, it was a free day so he could sleep in just a little bit until Chat Noir made his debut for the contest winner announcement. After his scheduled afternoon meal, Adrien made an excuse about going out to the movie with friends. Nathalie and Gorilla dropped him off at the theater and he went inside. But when they left, he dashed out and transformed in a nearby alley. Chat leapt across buildings until he was at the Grand Paris Hotel. The crowd surrounding the area cheered for him and he waved happily. Sure, he knew he basically rigged this contest, but being able to apologize to Marinette would be well worth it.  
  
“And the winner of the Hero Day contest is,” Andre announced, opening the envelope before reading out the name, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”  
  
_Yes!_ Chat cheered in his head. “If that’s the case,” the hero said, stepping off the stage, “I’ll make a personal appearance. That particular civilian has helped Ladybug and I a couple times. So I can say my thanks now.”  
  
Before he could be questioned, Chat leapt off to see Marinette, swiping a small bunch of anemone from a public garden in the process. The balcony was unoccupied when Chat landed. But he could hear the silent squeak from the other side of the hatch. “Marinette…” he called, knocking on the hatch. “Princess, please open up.” He knocked again. “I’m begging here Mari. You can karate kick me off this roof, string me up to the Eiffel Tower, whatever punishment you see fit. But please, just hear me out.” When there was no response, Chat belt tail dropped as he sighed. The blonde was ready to leave until he heard the trapdoor creek open. He whipped around so flash he was surprised he didn’t get whiplash.  
  
Marinette poked her head out, not coming any farther. “…Well?” She looked at him expectantly, but also with a glare.  
  
Oh, right! His mouth needed to form words! _Come on, brain. Don’t fail me now!_ “I’m so sorry!” he blurted. _Okay, good start_. “I never, _ever_ intended to hurt you. And I see now how much I did by not telling you sooner. But this is exactly what I was afraid of.” He could see Marinette starting to rise out of her spot, slowly coming up to the balcony. “I promised myself I’d love the girl behind the mask, and I do! I _really_ do! I liked you before I knew you the truth.” By the time she was standing on her balcony, his gloved hands took hers. “I found you _irresistible_ , but I denied it for so long. I’m not just saying this because of your identity. It’s the truth; the honest truth.” His eyes stared deep into hers, revealing the seriousness in his gaze. “Once I knew, I spent more time to confirm that what I felt for you on both sides was real. You deserve someone who loves all of you. I want to be that person for you. I couldn’t stay away from you, so please. Please don’t push me away. I love you Marinette. Every time I said, ‘I love you,’ I was always telling the truth.”  
  
It was quiet again and Chat started panicking. But he was caught off-guard when Marinette knocked him off his feet, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Chat!” she cried, snuggling into his chest. “I forgive you, kitty!”

“You…you do?” Chat looked hopeful, resting his hands on her shoulders.  
  
His elation skyrocketed when she nodded and looked at him with a teary-eyed smile. “Yes. I’m so sorry. I’m really insecure, aren’t I?”  
  
“No, no! Your worry is totally justified!” The hero picked them both up. “There’s one more thing I need to tell you. This is actually what I’ve been most worried about with this whole situation.”

The pigtailed girl’s head tilted in confusion. “What do you mean, kitty?”

This was it. This was the moment that he believed would make or break them. He just hoped she wouldn’t hate him forever after she _just_ forgave him. Chat closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Claws in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Another cliffhanger. How dare I~


	22. Real Marichat (aka Mari and Plagg Interactions)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy some Adrienette that follows the reveal.

Adrien kept his eyes closed as the transformation faded and he was left as Adrien Agreste, standing on Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s balcony with no reasonable explanation of how he got there. He cracked one eye open, subconsciously fearing Marinette’s reaction. But her reaction was nothing like he expected. The blunette just stood there, frozen and gaping like a fish while pointing straight at him.  
  
“Marinette…?” he questioned carefully, not daring to move. But she didn’t move. “Mari,” he tried again, taking a single step closer. No reaction. “Princess.” Adrien waved a hand in front of her face.  
  
Marinette blinked, broken out of her trance. Her breathing turned heavy. If this was an anime, smoke would be coming out of her ears from how much her brain was exerting itself. “I…and you…and we… But then…you…and I…and then…” Her hands moved wildly, pointing to herself, him, the hatch to her room, and the general area of her balcony. She suddenly bit on her fist to muffle the scream that followed her babbling, so no one below would think there was an akuma attack. “This whole time?!” she yelled. But she was still biting her first, so the words came out like a garbled mess.  
  
“Tada…?” the model tried to joke, opening up his arms like some grand performer. But the awkward smile on his face broke any possible illusion of confidence.  
  
“Oh god,” Marinette whispered. By now, Adrien learned it was a sign that she was about to go on a babble fest. She needed a way to process everything, so he gave her the floor. “I told you everything. I told you everything about my crush, which you now _know_ is you. I told you about the scarf. And you didn’t say anything! Of course, you wouldn’t say anything. That would reveal your identity since I’ve only told you, well Chat, and Alya. Last I checked, you don’t have the parts to be a girl.” She paced across her balcony, her words blending together as Adrien watched her. Finally, he decided it was time to talk it out together. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop and turn to him. “Sorry. I’m babbling, aren’t I?”  
  
“It’s fine, Mari,” Adrien reassured her with a gentle squeeze on her shoulder. “I know this is a lot to process. I acted the exact same way.”  
  
“Really…?”  
  
“Cat’s honor,” the blonde responded with a salute, causing Marinette to giggle softly. “I’m surprised actually. I thought you would hate me forever after you knew.”  
  
“No, no, no!” Marinette protested, shaking her head. “I mean, yeah, it’s a little upsetting, knowing that you know my feelings this whole time. And my dream of being with you came true with me even knowing it. But…I do understand. As Ladybug, I have to make difficult decisions on what to say and not to say. I need to keep my identity a secret to keep people safe. You were just looking out for me, weren’t you?”  
  
“Yes!” Adrien proclaimed, a little louder than necessary. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Y-yeah. I didn’t know how you’d react, and I just wanted you be safe.” The blonde gave her a little smile and she returned it.  
  
“About time!”  
  
Adrien and Marinette jumped at the arrival of a new voice. Adrien groaned while Marinette stared at Plagg, who came out of hiding. The cat god stretched out before getting up in Marinette’s face.  
  
“Plagg!” Adrien scolded.  
  
The blunette blinked a couple times. “Hello there. Plagg, was it?” Her cupped her hands, to which the little god sat down.  
  
“Yup!” Plagg agreed. “Thanks for all the cheese stuff while I was here.”  
  
“You’re welcome.” Marinette smiled and rubbed Plagg’s head with her thumb, causing him to purr happily. “I always wondered what Chat Noir’s kwami looked like. You’re awfully cute, aren’t you?”  
  
“Don’t encourage him,” the model pouted, crossing his arms.  
  
“I like this one,” the chaos god said while looking at his Miraculous holder and pointing to the blunette. “Marry her and keep her forever.”  
  
Both Marinette’s and Adrien’s cheeks flushed red. “Th-that’s enough.” Adrien made a swipe for the black kwami, but he flew out of reach. Marinette giggled, a little louder this time.  
  
“Let’s take this in my room,” she said, opening her hatch. “It’s a good thing I made cheese pastries for a snack.”  
  
“Mine!” Plagg suddenly cheered and rushed into her room.

Marinette and Adrien inevitably followed. Luckily, her parents were in the bakery, working. So there was no cause for alarm while they were talking. They sat on her chaise as Plagg munched down on the pastries.

“Is it safe to come out now?” a gentler and more feminine voice than Plagg’s piped up.

“Oh, right!” Marinette suddenly exclaimed. “You can come out, Tikki.”

A red blur moved across the room and spotted a short distance away from Adrien’s face. “Hello. Adrien. My name is Tikki. I’m Marinette’s kwami.” She did a cute little bow and smiled.

“Wow, you’re so polite,” Adrien commented, “Unlike a certain cheese-loving glutton I know!” He raised his voice as the sentence progressed, to which Plagg scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Anyway, Tikki. It’s nice to finally meet you too. I’m sorry you had to stay in hiding for so long because of me.”

“No need to worry, Adrien,” Tikki responded with a wave of his tiny hand. “I can see you care for Marinette very much. That’s all I could ever ask for.”  
  
“More! More!” Plagg suddenly demanded, pointing to the empty plate. _Way to ruin a moment_ , Adrien scowled.  
  
Marinette simply smiled and nodded. “Okay. Adrien, you and Tikki can stay here. I’ll take Plagg down to the kitchen for some actual cheese. Plus, it’ll be fun to talk to another kwami.” She motioned for Plagg to follow and descending down the stairs, making her way to the pantry. “From what I remember, you like cheese. We have Swiss, Cheddar, and Brie.”  
  
“Brie!” Plagg cheered, holding out his paws to take the cheese once Marinette passed it to him. He chomped down with gusto, tossing the last chunk in the air before swallowing it whole. “You know,” he suddenly piped up, “he really likes you.”

Marinette blushed and stared wide-eyed at Plagg. “He does?” She shifted on her foot, twiddling her thumbs. “Wow,” she managed to choke out.

“I know I come off as super awesome and dedicated to cheese, because I am, but I want him to be happy.” Plagg floated down and sat on the table, his green boring staring into Marinette’s.

She smiled and picked him up by her cupped hands. “Thank you, Plagg. Not just on my end, but for taking care of Adrien as well. I’m glad he has a kwami like you.”

She kissed is head and he made a gag noise, swatting her away. But Marinette just giggled and took them back up to her room. When they got there, Tikki was in Adrien’s lap as they talked. But his back was to her, so she couldn’t see his face.

“We’re back,” Marinette greeted, the kwamis floating back to their respective holder.

Adrien sat up and gave her a very Cheshire grin. “Well, _Purriness_.” Oh god, where was he going with this? “If I recall, you won a whole day with a superhero.” He stood up from her chaise and turned around. When he did, she laughed out loud. He was wearing the mask she made for him.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his nose. “Oh, please. I bet you rigged it.” When he went stiff, she gasped. “No way! Adrien Agreste, Paris’s golden child, rigged a contest!” She laughed, clutching her stomach. “M-might as well…take what…I-I can…g-get,” she said between laughs.

“Plagg, claws out!” The fake mask was replaced with his real one, black leather covering him from head to toe. He led Marinette up to her balcony and scooped her up, causing her to squeak and hold on tight. “This is the only chance I’ll get to be seen with you in public like this. I’ll take it at full value.”

“What do you me– Eeeeeep!” Marinette clutched onto Chat Noir as he jumped across Paris, taking her to only the first stop on their “contest-won” date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still writing, so expect more chapters today.


	23. Actual Cat Chat Noir

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day?! Le gasp!

Marinette kept her arms around Chat’s neck as he swiftly moved through the air. She knew the view of Ladybug. But seeing it as Marinette, a girl who didn’t have a magical yoyo to catch onto the nearest object to stop her fall. There was an added thrill to it. There also came the added trust. She trusted Adrien not to drop her. And she trusted him to keep her close. They flew through the skies until Chat gently landed on pavement, carefully letting Marinette down onto her feet. The blunette smiled at her boyfriend—she’d be lying if she said just thinking that word didn’t make her giddy—and turned to look at where he brought her. She gasped at the gorgeousness of it.  
  
The place he decided to bring her was an elegantly arranged garden. Stone walkways from all four sides led to the giant white gazebo. The designs on it were intricate and Victorian-styled. Patches of flowers encircled the area in perfect symmetry in terms of shaping. The patches even encircled the nearby hill, except for the clear-cut path to actually get to the top. And atop that hill was a gorgeous cherry blossom tree. Chat led her to the gazebo, where a small bouquet of Anemone and a picnic basket sat on the table.  
  
“Kitty…” Marinette softly spoke, gazing in wonder, “You planned all of this…?”  
  
“Indeed I did, Milady,” Chat answered with a sweeping bow. He extended a gloved hand out to her, his peridot eyes hopeful. “Will the Princess allow this lowly knight to spoil her a little today?”  
  
Marinette blushed, cupping her cheek with one hand and placing her other hand in his. “I-I see you’re k-keeping that up.”  
  
“Well, royalty deserves to be called thusly,” he flirted, laying a kiss on her knuckles.  
  
Marinette turned redder and turned her gaze away. “N-now you’re just sh-showing off.”  
  
“That depends. Is it impressing you?” He leaned in closer to her and a shiver went up her spine, but not the bad kind. He chuckled softly and pulled back. “Let’s get that cute face cooled down with something to drink.”  
  
The pigtailed girl could only nod dumbly as Chat escorted her to the gazebo, pulling out her chair and pushing her in. She smiled gently at him and posed like a true Victorian democrat, pretending to fan herself with one of those gigantic feather fans. The hero snickered and sat across from her. He laid his elbows on the table and settled his chin on his folded hands. Marinette almost choked on air when she saw the same lovestruck expression in his eyes that she had given him, as Adrien, not even a full month ago. She knew in her heart that what she felt for Adrien was real. So to notice that exact same look she gave him, on his face and directed at her, made her heart want to leap out of her chest with glee. Adrien Agreste, the boy she secretly loved for a solid year, returned her feelings. Not just because she was Ladybug, but because he thought she was _amazing_.  
  
The blunette cleared her throat, willing the blush that was rising up her neck to settle. “So, uh, what’s f-for lunch?”  
  
“Glad you asked, Princess!” Chat exclaimed with a happy grin.  
  
He reached over and opened the basket. She observed what he pulled out one by one. She noticed the bottles of high quality pink lemonade.  Delicately wrapped in saran wrap were two delectable-looking sandwiches. A bag of bread rolls and homemade potato wedges came afterwards. And for dessert was two slices and strawberry shortcake.  
  
All Marinette could say was, “Wow…”  
  
“Only the best for you, _ma chérie_ ,” Chat commented with a smile.  
  
“Th-this looks really high quality.

The model in disguise chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I asked the chefs back home to make all this. I just really wanted to give you the best afternoon. And it all starts with the food, right?”  
  
“Wrong,” Marinette simply said with a blank face. Chat recoiled slightly at her answer. But then she smiled and laid her hand on his. “It starts with the company. And I can see no one better to spend today with.”  
  
Now it was Chat’s turn to blush and choke up a little bit. He laid his hand down, sandwiching her delicate hand between his. “Thank you, Marinette,” the blonde softly said, gazing her gently. Marinette knew that expression well. It was the same one he wore when she fell for him on that rainy day.  
  
“Now, let’s eat!” the pigtailed girl enthusiastically said. “I don’t want your hard work at ordering this food go to waste.”  
  
Chat laughed heartily and handed her half of the food. They clinked their bottles together and took a swig of lemonade. Marinette moaned in delight at the taste. Who knew lemonade could be so exquisite? If the lemonade was anything to go off of, she was in heaven when she tasted the sandwich. Did Adrien eat like this every day? Because wow! The delicate balance of ingredients, a balance of salty, sweet, crunchy, and smooth, left her wanting more. The two fed each other pieces of their cake, despite having the exact same thing. She turned beet red when Chat leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth, claiming there was frosting stuck there. Marinette pouted and he just chuckled.  
  
After lunch, Chat led his princess up the hill. They sat together underneath the tree, his head in her lap. She gently combed her fingers through his hair and the ears atop his head twitched in delight. His chest rumbled as a purr emitted from the pit of his stomach. Marinette giggled and patted his chest, smiling happily down at him. He gently reached up and plucked a cherry blossom out of her hair.  
  
“I love you, Bugaboo,” Chat whispered.  
  
“I love you too, Kitty,” Marinette whispered back.  
  
The blunette slowly leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. Chat happily returned it, placing a gloved hand on the back of her neck to keep her in place. Suddenly, a soft meow echoed through the area, causing Marinette to break to kiss and gasp when she looked up. Sitting in the grass, emerald gaze never leaving the designer, was a black cat. When Chat sat up to observe the cat, the feline immediately bound forward and hopped into Marinette’s lap.  
  
Marinette gasped but then giggled, picking up the cat and playing with its front paws while it mewed happily. “Aw, aren’t you a cutie pie. Did you see a big kitty getting affection and want some too~?”  
  
Adrien’s eyes twitched slightly as he watched Marinette give a cat (that definitely wasn’t him) attention. She giggled, her bluebell eyes focused on that stupidly cute cat. He glared at it with a fire in his eyes. Marinette was so preoccupied with the cat that she didn’t notice the feline turn its head toward the hero who was glaring holes into it.  
  
_Back off!_ Adrien scowled. _She’s mine! Got that? Mine!_ He motioned to his eyes with two fingers and pointed them at the cat. _You are so dead._  
  
But Adrien could only gape like a fish when the cat gave him what appeared to be a smirk as it nuzzled into Marinette’s stomach, making her giggle. The blonde was just about to snap. Luckily, he was saved from humiliating himself by throwing down with a cat when a piercing scream rang through the town.  
  
_I never thought I’d see that day when I’d be saved by those screams_.


	24. Hanahaki Disease

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing something different because the level of angst involved with Hanahaki Disease doesn't fit at the current point, or any point, in my story. So I'm mixing it up a little.

Knowing each other’s secret identities made a few things less complicated. For instance, Marinette didn’t have to make up an excuse and run of to find a place to secretly transform. Instead, Chat helped her find a place and she transformed with ease. Since he was already transformed and hadn’t used his Cataclysm, that saved time. Ladybug and Chat Noir flew over the Parisian streets in search of the danger.

When they landed on a random rooftop, they found exactly what they were looking for. Down below was an akuma. She had a rose theme to her. She had thorn stockings and gloves. Her dress was formed by black roses and her dark brown her was decorated with red roses. Tattoos of blue roses lined her skin. She raised her gloved hand, a mist spraying through the air, and most people in the area dropped to their knees, coughing violently while the few remaining fled. What on earth was she doing to them?

“My name is Hanahaki!” the akuma announced. “And I want Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous! But first, all of you will know my pain when it comes to love!”

Ladybug suddenly ducked Chat Noir down so they could scope the area without being scene. This was bad. The spotted hero knew this one of those rare instances where they couldn’t just spring into action like usual. If her knowledge of Japanese mythology was correct, then this akuma would prove difficult when keeping the civilians safe.

“What’s the matter, Buginette?” the cat-themed hero questioned.

“It’s the akuma… I think I know what her power is… Have you ever heard of Hanahaki Disease?”

“I only know a little. It’s that disease where you spit up flower petals, right? Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Chaton,” Ladybug said. “Hanahaki Disease is more than that. In the myths, it’s a plant that grows inside you and wraps around your lungs. It grows in those who suffer from one-sided love. Symptoms are coughing up flower petals, yes. But the plant only dies if that love is reciprocated. If not…then the victim will die. Or that plant can be removed surgically, but the victim would no longer feel love.”

“Wow,” Chat said, his ears pinned down to his head. But then they sprang back up as a smile graced his face. “Guess it’s a good thing we revealed our identities and we’re a couple now, huh.” After a moment of silence, Chat’s lips turned down in a slight frown. “We are a couple…right?”

Ladybug shook her head with a giggle. “Of course we are, silly kitty. I’m not the type of girl who kisses a guy just because she can.”

The hero in black perked up almost instantly. “Good. Good. So know that I have a better grasp of the myth, what now?”

The spotted heroine put a finger to her chin, contemplating. “I have a feeling the myth can connect to the object we need to break.”

“Maybe a flower? Then again, she’s covered in them.” Chat took a peek from their hiding place to see the akuma, who was in fact covered in roses.

“Only one other way to find out.” Ladybug stood up, yoyo in hand. “Lucky Charm!” she called out, summoning whatever object was to come. She blinded in confusion when a spray bottle filled with a highlighter yellow liquid landed in her hand. She shook it gently a couple times, trying to think.

“Whatever you do, keep that away from me,” Chat commented with a shooing motion of his hand. “I don’t need—”

The heroine sent a glare his way. “I swear to heaven above, if you say one joke about bodily functions, I’m never talking to you again.”

The cat hero put a hand to his heart and sighed dreamily. “See, Bugaboo? It’s just as I said. We’re soulmates.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes and focused back on the akuma. With her Lucky Vision, she saw the following objects light up: a shopping cart, the nearby fountain, and Hanahaki’s right hand. Not only that, but she was able to see more clearly what Hanahaki had in her hand. It looked like a joy buzzer, and it was strapped to her palm, spraying innocent victims. _That must be the object_. After a brief moment of thinking, a lightbulb went off in Ladybug’s mind. “That’s it!” she exclaimed in a whisper. “Come with me, Chaton!”

When she rushed out, Chat gave a salute. “Always, Milady!” And he dashed after her, toward the akuma.

“There you are!” Hanahaki shouted and began to spray her mist. Unfortunately for her, Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t double over when the mist hit them. “What the–?!” Hanahaki tried again, but the heroes jumped out of the way.

A purple butterfly outline appeared on the akuma’s face, supposed Hawkmoth giving instructions. With that distraction, Ladybug swung over and grabbed the shopping cart, swerving it into a new position at the end of the block. Before Hanahaki could see what she was doing, Ladybug swung high above her head. She landed in front of the villain and used the spray bottle.

The akuma cried out and backed up. “Not my babies!” In that moment, Ladybug realized what was in the bottle. It was a weed killer! Even if flowers weren’t weeds, this one seemed to kill any plant. As Hanahaki backed up while trying to cover her hair and dress, Chat came up from behind and use Cataclysm on the street, creating cracks. The akumatized villain tripped on the large crack and landed right in the shopping cart that was placed ahead of time. Together, Ladybug and Chat Noir pushed the cart toward the fountain, where Hanahaki landed with a screech, drench from head to toe.

“You’ll pay for that!” Hanahaki cried out and held out her palm. But nothing happened. “Huh?” She looked at her hand to find her buzzer missing. “No!”

Ladybug made her way over and plucked the buzzer out of the fountain. The joy buzzer was ruined thanks to the water short-circuiting it. The heroine crushed it in her hands and let the akuma fly out, ultimately capturing and purifying it in her yoyo before setting it free.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug exclaimed and threw the spray bottle into the air, repairing all the damage that came from the attack.

Everyone who was hit with Hanahaki’s mist was cured and the akumatized victim reverted back to one Hannah Melise; a girl who knew her first love wouldn’t love her back. Chat helped calm the victim down as she was confused as to where she was and how she got there. Meanwhile, Ladybug handled the press that undoubtedly swarmed the area. When all that was finally done, Ladybug and Chat Noir dashed away when their Miraculous beeped at the final warning. They ducked behind a building a detransformed together.

“Uh oh,” Adrien said, searching his pockets. “I’m out of cheese. I really wanted to finish our date, milady. You did win a day with Chat Noir after all. And the day isn’t done yet.”

Marinette smiled as she handed a cookie in her purse to Tikki. “Don’t worry about that. I think I’ve got it covered.” She took his hand, intertwining their fingers, and left the alleyway once the coast was clear. She smiled up at him as he recognized where they were headed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this late last night, got tired, and decided to finish it in the morning. So you'll be getting double upload today. And I'll be caught up.


	25. Chat Noir Merch

Adrien and Marinette stepped into the latter’s house, the blunette closing the door behind them. She gestured to the couch and Adrien took a seat. He glanced around the living area and smiled fondly. The only time he had been in this particular room, it was as his alter ego. Her parents were so understanding and genuinely worried for him, despite knowing next to nothing about him, superhero or not. As Adrien, he never got the chance to just sit and relax in this room. He had only ever been in Marinette’s room as his model persona.  
  
His ears picked up the sound of her descending steps, which confused him. Wasn’t she in the kitchen? The only staircase in the house led to her room, so why did she need to go up to her room? When the blonde turned around, he swore his jaw hurt when it hit the floor. Marinette stood at the bottom of the stairs, wearing what he knew was his favorite outfit out of all her designs. It was the _Purrincess_ jacket he first saw her in back when he was grounded by his father and couldn’t go see her for three days. She matched it with a neon green tank top that had pawprints scattered around the bottom hem and black jean shorts with tasteful rips at the thighs. Her pink flats were replaced with black sandals, revealing the lime green nail polish on her toes.  
  
The blunette’s lips, shiny with flavored lip gloss, curled up in a saucy grin and she did a little twirl. “How do I look?”  
  
Adrien didn’t even give her a worded response. Instead, he jumped over the couch and ran to her. He placed his hands on her waist and pressed his lips to hers. She eagerly returned it, gently caressing his cheeks with her palms. To Adrien, Marinette was like oxygen. He didn’t need anything else be to be right in the moment, their bodies flush against each other and his lips on hers. Looks like he got those strawberry kisses after all. Marinette felt the exact same way. The world seemed to disappear around them, leaving only the two lovers left.  
  
“Ugh! Gross!” Plagg’s voice suddenly piped up, scattering the illusion. “I come in to say I’m done with my cheese break and I’m subjected to your gross lovey-dovey rituals!”  
  
“Now, now Plagg,” Tikki said, floating up next to him, “I believe the phrase is ‘the pot calling the kettle black.’ Besides, remember all those centuries ago when you—”  
  
“We do not speak of it!” the chaos kwami suddenly interrupted, his cheeks surprisingly turning red. “J-just do your thing and leave my past in the past!”  
  
“Alright,” Adrien answered, followed by Plagg heaving a sigh of relief, “…for now.”  
  
“Oh, come on!”  
  
“Plagg, claws out!”  
  
Adrien transformed into Chat Noir and held his hand out to Marinette. Marinette took it and was led up to her balcony so they could leave without keeping any windows open. It was the 21 st century, filled with stealthy superheroes and rambunctious villains, so you never know what could be heading its way into your home. Chat carried Marinette Princess style across Paris, people who spotted them would swoon in awe at their cute little dynamic while the blunette could spot some girls, and even a good chunk of guys, huffing about not winning the “contest.”  
  
“Oh!” Chat suddenly exclaimed and made an unexpected stop at the Trocadéro. The pigtailed girl raised her eyebrow and looked at him with a confused expression. But he just gave her a sly grin and held up a finger; the universal sign to hold that thought. So she kept quiet and observed him, not knowing what he possibly had in store for her. Her bluebell eyes widened and she facepalmed with a silent giggle when she saw Chat head to a cart that was selling Ladybug and Chat Noir merchandise. Marinette watched as the store clerk started bouncing in place excitedly and Chat was kind enough to take a picture with her. Then she handed him a bag with whatever he was picked out—her view was blocked from her position—and he sauntered back over to his lovely girlfriend.  
  
“Surprise!” Chat exclaimed enthusiastically, reaching into the bag.  
  
What Marinette didn’t expect was a bell collar secured around her neck and a cat ear headband placed on her head. She blinked a few times, touching the bell gently with one hand. Then that hand went to the ears. They were fuzzy like a cat’s. Her bluebell eyes then trained on him, waiting for an explanation.  
  
“I just thought they’d look cute on you,” Chat explained simply, grinning ear to ear, “and I was so right.”  
  
Marinette rolled her eyes, her shoulders shaking from her giggles. “Alright, Chaton. I’ll give it to you. These are kind of cute.” She looked around, taking in the gentle breeze that hit her skin and delicately shook the trees. “Hey, before you take me to the next destination on your grand plan contest date, can we walk around the park a bit?”  
  
“Of course! Besides, the final place is best at night.”  
  
Marinette learned not to question her model/hero boyfriend at this point. It felt it was in his  nature to go to extreme lengths to impress her and make her happy. It was certainly nice to be treated like royalty from time to time, but she wanted to reassure him that she didn’t need the grand gestures or large amounts of money spent on her to be happy. She just needed _him_ ; his very presence in her life.  
  
The two walked side by side, not drawing too much attention to themselves. Even though Adrien wanted to be as affectionate as possible, they had agreed to keep the PDA on the down-low when only one of them was in their hero persona. The news of Chat Noir and Marinette dating was never made public, the rumors contained exclusively within the school walls. That would make the transition much easier. Adrien would ask Marinette out more publicly, she would agree (and probably mess around a bit just to make him suffer and stun everyone around them), and then they could be as sickeningly sweet with their affection in public as possible. The events of the day didn’t just end with a walk in the park. Chat found Andre and they were treated to free ice cream. Chat made Marinette laugh by trying to balance a spoon on his nose. The sun began to set as the two ended up at the Pont de Arts Bridge, Chat sitting on the railing and Marinette leaning safely against it.  
  
“Well, Princess,” Chat suddenly said, holding out his gloved hand, “Are you ready for the final destination?”  
  
She smiled and took his hand. “As ready as I’ll ever be, _mon minou_.”  
  
Chat picked his girlfriend up princess-style. “Hold on tight, _mon amour_ ,” he whispered before taking off, Marinette’s arms securely locked around his neck, her bell collar tinkling softly in the night. The moon hung overheard as the hero flew through the air toward his destination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so excited for tomorrow! It’s a very special day personally and it’s also going to be one of my most anticipated prompts! Two good things in one! I’m just so excited! If you knew me, you’d think I was about to explode into glitter right now! Well, until tomorrow, kittens!


	26. Midnight Serenades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday dear *inserts name you have to guess but I doubt you’ll ever find out*! Happy Birthday to me!  
> That’s right! It’s my birthday! And what better way to celebrate it than with a mushy-gushy romantic prompt that I like to think I’m very proficient in.

“Close your eyes, Princess,” Chat commanded just before they landed. She nodded and proceeded to close her eyes, giving him her full trust to make sure she didn’t run smack-dab into any poles like a comical doofus. The hero gently took her hand, the coolness of her leather gloves sending pleasant shivers up her spine. “Not that far now.”  
  
He gently pulled her forward and she followed. Because Marinette didn’t have her eyes open, essentially making her blind to her surroundings, her other senses became just a tad sharper. She heard the footfalls of their steps. They didn’t sound heavy, so it wasn’t wood or concrete they were stepping on; carpet perhaps? The slight chill that hit her cheeks didn’t feel like a natural breeze, so they must be somewhere indoors, and with air conditioning. She heard the sound of heavy doors creak open and a large echo when they closed. She could feel the descending slope they traveled down. Finally, Chat put both hands on her shoulders and stopped her, so she stayed in position.  
  
“Okay,” Chat said, “open.”  
  
When her bluebell eyes opened, Marinette’s first reaction was to gasp. She took in her surroundings, in awe of the scenery. It was definitely a concert hall. It wasn’t just any standardized concert hall; no sir. It gave off the “only mega rich people come here to snootily sip champagne and listen to super famous classical performers” vibe. The large columns had a Roman architectural style to them, as did the walls. The seats were red velvet and looked very plush. She was almost afraid to lay her hand on them. Moonlight filtered in from grand skylight overheard, intricate designs etched into the glass. Chat had stopped her just a few feet away from the main stage, which was beautifully polished. Atop the stage was a grand piano, sleek and newly cleaned.  
  
“Adrien…” the pigtailed girl whispered softly, watching her model boyfriend still in his transformation elegantly sit down at the grand piano and lift up the lid.  
  
He patted the spot next to him, his belt tail swishing behind him. Marinette could only nod and move around to find the steps, ascending them and sitting next to her chaton.  
  
“Why do you still have your transformation up?” she asked curiously. “It’s just the two of us here, right?”  
  
“Y-yeah, well,” he started, sheepishly scratching his cheek, a blush rising up his neck. “I, uh, thought this was appropriate. We started off this relationship while these sides of ourselves. So I thought I should show you how much I love you, as both sides of myself, in the same way it all began.”  
  
Okay, now. Now Marinette wanted to cry. Never in her wildest dreams had a boy ever thought to go to amazing lengths to show their admiration and affection for her. Heck, she never even had a boyfriend until now. She knew she daydreamed about it, but deep inside she always had a feeling she dreams were just delusions. She fantasized about Adrien for the longest time, planning their wedding and family life, even planning every last date she wanted to go on with him. But here he was, Adrien Agreste himself, telling him he loved her and considering the very beginning of their relationship when planning their day together. It felt like a dream come true.  
  
The sound of a few keys being played broke her out of her thoughts and looked at Chat, who was smiling affectionately at her. “I wanted to play you a little something,” he said, “My English is a little rusty, but I’ve been practicing.” He took a deep breath and let the music flow.  
  
_Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything take away  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath  
Every hour has come to this_ _  
__One step closer_

Marinette’s eyes widened as she heard the lyrics. She knew this song. She’s heard only a handful of times, but the emotions in the lyrics always helped her remember. Gathering herself, she opened her mouth and sang with him.  
  
_I have died everyday waiting for you  
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you  
For a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more  
And all along I believed I would find you  
Time has brought your heart to me  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
I'll love you for a thousand more_  
  
The two opened their eyes and Chat looked at Marinette with a serene smile. She smiled back at him, her bluebell eyes displaying all the warmth and affection she held for her boyfriend. The blunette scooted closer, their shoulders touching. She snuggled up to him, and he put an arm around her shoulder. They leaned in, meeting halfway as their lips touched. Chat wrapped his arms around her waist and she slid her hands up to his shoulders. When they pulled back, their foreheads touched, eyes swimming with love as they gazed at one another.  
  
“I really like kissing you,” Marinette whispered.  
  
_Well, I’m dead now_. Adrien’s brain short-circuited at that moment, his cat-like eyes going wide as saucers. Now on autopilot, Chat leaned down and kissed her passionately. She returned the kiss in less than an instant. Her fingers reached up and tangled themselves in his blonde locks. They stayed in each other’s arms, kissing the moments away. Neither was willing to break apart and just stay in their own little world forever. Unfortunately, they needed a little something called oxygen. They broke apart panting heavily.  
  
“I have one more song to play for you,” Chat announced, turning back to the piano.  
  
Marinette smiled happily and leaned her head on his shoulder. He smiled softly back and turned his attention back to the piano. His gloved fingers moved across the keys and the pigtailed girl felt the melody of this song was extremely familiar, but she couldn’t place it just yet. So she settled in and decided to just listen for this song.  
  
_Wise men say only fools rush in_  
But I can't help falling in love with you  
Oh, shall I stay? Would it be a sin?  
Oh, if I can't help falling in love with you

The blunette closed her eyes and nuzzled Chat’s leather-clad shoulder, recognizing the song instantly. She was a little embarrassed to admit that she often sung this while thinking of Adrien within the first year of knowing him.  
  
_Woah like a river flows surely to the sea_  
Darling so it goes, some things are meant to be  
Woah, take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you  
Oh, for I can't help falling in love with you  
  
“Beautiful,” Marinette complimented, the music making her heart pound.

“You sure are,” Chat replied, causing Marinette to gasp and blush. He chuckled in return, kissed her forehead, and went back to playing with no particular songs in mind. It was just the two of them, surrounded by gorgeous melodies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go! I was going to post this at night since _Midnight_ Serenades, but I might as well post it now and enjoy the rest of my birthday! And before you ask, I’m not tell you my age. You never ask a lady that~


	27. Sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been stuck with springtime allergies and haven't been 100%, but I did finish this and I will do more now that I have some good allergy medicine with me.

With Marinette resting in his arms, Chat Noir leapt back to her house. The trapdoor was unlocked, so that was a plus. With his foot, he lifted up the hatch and climbed inside. He gently laid Marinette on the bed, tucking her in and smoothing out her bangs from her eyes. Chat smiled softly and placed a kiss on her temple. Just as he had pulled back, he jumped when the trapdoor that lead to the living area suddenly opened. He tried to escape, but once he tried to get up, he fell back onto the bed. Confused, the blonde looked around, only to discover Marinette was gripping his belt tail. When she had done that, he had no clue. All he knew was that he needed to have his profuse apologies ready and his prayers said, unknowing of whatever wrath the blunette’s parents held in their kind heart.  
  
“Hey girl,” Alya’s voice suddenly rang. Soon enough, her distinguishable red hair came into view, “I left my sweater her and I was wonder—” Her voice felt silent as the journalist gazed up at Chat in disbelief. He could only imagine how this probably looked, a superhero right next to a sleeping Marinette. From the view of the trapdoor, her shoulders looked bare since she was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top for sleepwear. And then there was Chat, so close to Marinette that it would look like they were in a lip-lock from a certain angle. “You—”  
  
Thankfully, Marinette’s grip on his tail loosened and Chat dove for Alya, covering her mouth before she had the chance to shout, rage, squeal, or all three. “I’m going to remove my hand,” the black-clad hero whispered, looking into Alya’s hazel eyes, “but to do so, I need you to _promise_ not to scream. Deal?” She nodded. “Okay…” Chat slowly removed his hand and backed up, standing on the now-closed trapdoor.  
  
The redhead was silent for a moment. She took a slow, deep breath and then spun on her heel, grabbing Chat’s shoulders and shaking him violently. “What do you think you’re doing to my girl?” she demanded in a hushed tone.  
  
“N-Nothing!” Chat’s stammered, heat rising to his cheeks.  
  
“Sure didn’t look like anything.” Alya placed her hands on her hips, giving him a scrutinizing look. But that look slowly changed with an upturn of her lips. Chat swallowed nervously, watching as the journalist circled him like a fox ready to pounce on her prey. “So…what’s the deal?” she inquired, “Are you the reason Mari’s been particularly happy now-a-days~?”  
  
Chat stood there, stiff as a board. His face went pale at the prospect of Marinette’s best friend learning his secret. And by association, she’d learned Marinette’s secret. His skin paled at the thought.  
  
“You look flushed,” the redhead commented, focusing on his face. “Don’t tell me…you two hooked up?!”  
  
“Alya, keep your voice down!” Chat warned in a hushed voice.  
  
Unfortunately, the volume of Alya's voice caused Marinette to stir. “Alya…?” the blunette murmured, covering herself up with the covers unconsciously, which only served to make Alya more suspicion.  
  
“Get up, get dressed, and confess girl,” the redhead stated with her hands on her hips.  
  
Marinette cocked an eyebrow, then looked to Chat for clarity. “What…?”  
  
“She thinks we hooked up,” the hero flatly explained.  
  
“Huh,” Marinette simply responded, then turned to look up at the ceiling. “Geez, you’d think I’d remember something like that.” Then her bluebell eyes trained back on Chat. “Was it any good?”  
  
The two almost immediately snickered while Alya looked dumbfound. “Huh? So…you’re not? I mean, not that I’d blame you, but what about—” she glanced at Chat for a second “Mr. Sunshine?” she decided to finish without revealing names.  
  
The feline-themed hero had to hold in a guttural laugh at what he had recently learned was his code name when Marinette was talking about him while he was supposed nearby. Honestly, he felt like an idiot for nonchalantly thinking they were really into weather patterns during those conversations. Apparently, “Hurricane” was Marinette’s overflow of emotions. “Tornado” was he crazy schemes. “Thunder” was the code word for love, because the symbolized the day she fell for him. Finally, “Wind” was code for date planning. Girls had weird girl talks from a guy’s point of view.  
  
“There’s nothing going on,” the pigtailed girl groaned. “Please, _I beg you_. Just let me sleep.”  
  
With a huff, her best friend crossed her arms. “Fine. I’ll believe you,” Alya finalized, “for now.” Then, supposedly to make herself look intimidating—she kind of succeeded—she backed up down the staircase slowly, pointing to singers to her eyes then directing them at both Chat and Marinette. She mouthed, “I’m watching you,” and closed the trapdoor behind her.  
  
The two that were left in the room exchanged a tired look then sighed simultaneously. Suddenly, the trapdoor snapped open at they booth jumped. Alya returned, smiling sheepishly as she pulled herself up into Marinette’s room. She crossed it, grabbed her sweater, and left without a word. Marinette knew from that moment on, her and Chat wouldn’t have a second of peace until Alya was convinced.

* * *

Have you ever had those moments when you predicted something and it turned out to be so true and you have the itching urge to just scream “Called it!” at the top of your lungs? Yeah, that’s how Marinette felt for the next couple days. Alya was _relentless_! And she did mean that in every sense of the word. Her best friend would constantly look over her shoulder to see what she was writing, and then sigh when it was just design ideas or actual class notes. She would pester Marinette at lunch about “safe choices,” the which the latter would groan and slam her head on the table, also leaving a confuzzled Nino and an Adrien who _attempted_ to act confused too.  
  
Nights were worse. Alya would pop in at random times and point an accusing finger into the room instantaneously, shouting, “Aha!” Unfortunately for her, the breakthrough face she developed over the years melted when she was met with either Marinette and Chat just sitting and playing video games (or their usual activities that could be taken as pure friendship) or just Marinette, alone with her designs and thoughts. But the final night, just before Alya gave up her pursuit of whatever truth she convinced herself of, was by far the funniest and least awkward.  
  
“Aha!” Alya shouted, as become routine. This time, she was pointing up to the bed. “You two _are_ hooking up!”  
  
The redhead looked up in surprise when she saw that she in fact was pointing in the right direction, unlike a few instances. Marinette and Chat Noir were on the former’s pink bed, legs tangled. But they were on opposite sides of the bed, Marinette reading a magazine and Chat reading from one of the blunette’s recently bought design books. Bluebell eyes glanced into the direction of the trapdoor, but then trained on Chat.  
  
“Is that what we were doing?” the pigtailed girl asked with a straight face, “Chat, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve put my book down.”  
  
There was a pause. It was so silent, only the comedic chirping of crickets could be heard, at least in their heads. Chat was the first to crack a smile. Marinette came after, a giggle escaping her lips. They both laughed heartily to the point Alya joined in.  
  
“Alright, girl,” the reported said, coming down from her laughing fit. “I can see you two are friends. I won’t say anything, just like you asked of me. So…we good?”  
  
“We’re good,” Marinette responded with a smile, waving as her best friend left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to people who caught the Roseanne reference in this piece. And I mean the original Roseanne, not the 2018 version that's airing now.


	28. Hostage Situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I. Hate. Allergies.

“Alya’s cool,” Adrien commented once he detransformed so Plagg could eat and recharge.  
  
“She really is,” Marinette agreed, snuggled up in his arms as he held her.  
  
She giggled softly when he kissed the top of her head. Her hands were around his neck as she sat comfortably in his lap. It was moments like this that the couple came to enjoy. Even the word “couple” made the blunette’s heart leap out of her chest. Ever since her second year of lycée, she had dreamed of this moment. Well, this moment was included in the 10-year plan of getting married and having kids. Hey, give her a break. He’s been her first love after all. She didn’t exactly have a developed method on how to go about this new feeling. _I’m getting off track_ , Marinette scolded herself, nuzzling her head in Adrien’s shoulder and just enjoying his warmth now that there was no suit or mask (magical or homemade) separating them.  
  
“You know,” the pigtailed girl suddenly said, “for someone who spends hours in front of a camera, you’re a horrible actor.” She snickered quietly, remembering Adrien’s face when Alya came in a handful of times to accuse them of being intimate. She had to save him every time, noticing how his face went stiff and morphed into something like a goldfish when he was choking up on his words. As it turns out, her boyfriend wasn’t great at improv. That wouldn’t be so surprising if it weren’t for the fact that he was also a secret superhero that most likely made excuses on a daily basis to slip away and transform.  
  
“I can be a good actor,” the blonde said with a pout.  
  
Marinette giggled and patter his perfectly smooth cheek. “Sorry to break it to you, Chaton, but you’re not.”  
  
“Take that back.”

“Nope.”  
  
“Please?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“I’ll buy you ice cream.”

“Bribes don’t work on me.”  
  
“Fine,” Adrien huffed and tossed her off his lap.  
  
She shrieked in surprise when she landed on the other side of the bed. Marinette was confused, to say the least. Adrien never acted like this, whether as the hero or the model. Sure, Chat got pouty, but he never actively pushed her away.  
  
“Adrien…?” the blunette cautiously questioned.  
  
“Take it back,” Adrien demanded. “Take it back or…” He looked around him for a moment. “Plagg, claw out!”  
  
“Come on! Don’t get me involved!” the chaos kwami complained before being sucked into the ring.  
  
Once transformed, Chat made a grab for Marinette’s favorite cat pillow that was behind him, pressing a clawed finger to the stuffed cat’s neck. “Or else the cat gets it!”

Marinette blinked a couple times, dumbfounded. Was he seriously doing this? Was he really declaring a hostage situation…using a stuffed toy…? Well, to be fair, there wasn’t anything better around, and Adrien wasn’t the kind of person who would hold a living thing, like Tikki for example, against its will for personal gain. Nothing he did was for personal gain if it meant someone else suffered for it. The blunette mentally smirked, deciding to play along with his game…for now.  
  
“Oh no!” Marinette exclaimed with a gasp. “Not Mr. Snuffaluffagous!”  
  
Chat was taken aback slightly, looking at Marinette as if she’d just grown a second head. “What kind of name is that?”  
  
Marinette sulked, defensively crossing her arms. “What do you want from me? I was nine. Now give him back.”  
  
“No can do, _Purrincess_ ~” Chat purred, holding the toy closer. “Didn’t you hear? This is a hostage situation.”  
  
The blunette pouted and took a moment to strategize. She didn’t have her Lucky Vision, but like her friends and family (and now her boyfriend) told her, she always had a solution to a problem. She glanced around and then examined Chat, glancing back up into his eyes long enough so he wouldn’t suspect anything. She then looked to the pockets on his suit. By the indentation in the left one, something was definitely in it.  
  
“Okay,” Marinette relented, raising her hands in surrender. “You win… I guess it’s time,” at the last second, she threw herself onto him, reaching for the pocket and grabbing whatever was inside, “for Ladybug to save the day!” She moved to the other side of the bed in triumph. “Aha!” She giggled and looked down at her spoils, only to gasp and grip the object tighter. It was the lucky charm she gave him a couple years ago. Sure, she knew _Adrien_ kept it all this time, but to know that he kept it with him as _Chat_ was like a massive love arrow to the heart. He always kept a piece of her close to him, no matter what form he took.  
  
“Hey!” Chat protested. “Give that back!” He made a grab for it, but Marinette twisted her body just enough so that he’d miss.  
  
“This must be from someone very special,” the designer commented with a sly look on her face, holding the charm up to her face. “for you to care about it so much.”  
  
“Well, of course! It came from my second favorite girl.”  
  
Marinette looked at Chat in surprise. She was his _second_ favorite? Who was his first then? She didn’t peg Adrien for the unfaithful type. Even though she looked so plain and boring next to him, she knew in her heart that Adrien wasn’t one to stray. He was loyal to a fault, as said from experience. She looked at him curiously. If it wasn’t another girl, then the most logical answer was…  
  
“Your mom?” She asked.  
  
“Close,” the hero offhandedly said as he understood what she was asking about, and causing her to flinch in shock. “The girl who will be calling  _you_ mom.”  
  
Marinette spluttered, unsure of what just came out of his mouth. Did he? He couldn’t have! Maybe she heard wrong? Since when was she not the only one in this relationship planning their futures?! Her cheeks flared red and she fidgeted on the spot. “A-anyway, y-you give me back Mr. Snuffaluffagous—”  
  
“Still a ridiculous name.”  
  
“—and I’ll give your Marinette Lucky Charm back to you,” she finished, ignoring his comment.  
  
Chat held his chin in his thumb and index finger, pretending to contemplate. “Alright, Princess! You have yourself a deal!”  
  
They tossed their items back to each other, catching them effortlessly. Marinette snuggled her cat plushie for a moment and Chat placed a quick kiss on the charm before pocketing it again.  
  
“You better get home,” the pigtailed girl said, pointing out the window at the darkening sky. “I wouldn’t want these nights to end because you got caught again.”  
  
“Never fear Princess,” Chat said, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Your knight will always come back.” With one final kiss on her lips, the black-clad hero winked and left with a two-fingered salute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're getting a new chapter super soon.


	29. "Contrary to popular belief, I'm actually a dog person."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. Two chapters. One right after the other.

Chat didn’t show up the next night. Or the night after that. In fact, Adrien didn’t want to go anywhere at the moment. The day after Chat left Marinette’s place felt perfect. He and his girlfriend entered the school, holding hands and giggling, their shoulders touching and their steps in sync. Everyone they passed was left with their jaws hanging. Nino gave him a high-five on the way to class, much like Alya did for Marinette just moments after. His favorite part was Chloe. Adrien had suspected he would have to be the knight in shining leather, but in his civilian clothes, protecting his princess from the Mayor’s daughter. But the model was left in shock when Chloe marched up the blunette, poked her chest with her manicured finger, and threatened to ruin her life if she ever hurt Adrien, considering how it was so obvious how much he cared for her. Marinette shocked him even more with she took Chloe’s hand and smiled happily, stating that her life would be ruined if he wasn’t in it anymore. Adrien almost cried then and there.  
  
He was so happy. He was _too_ happy. Therefore, he tempted fate. The following day, a huge flock of birds flew over the school, shedding feathers like no tomorrow. Everyone in the hall took cover for the onslaught, not wanting to even bargain that if was _just feathers_ , if you know what I mean. But everyone who was aware of Adrien’s allergy stuck close to him. Marinette had to hold her blazer over his head as they rushed to the nurse’s office. He was sneezing the whole way, his nose turning redder by the minute. It was lucky timing when they got to the nurse. His head felt too light to be normal and he couldn’t breathe very well through his nose. The nurse insisted he rest up and he’d feel better by the end of the day. But it did not get better.  
  
The pollen in the air during springtime was the worst it had ever been. He normally wasn’t affected by a little pollen in the air, but it certainly didn’t help that all the birds were flying back home for the spring. He went home coughing and sneezing. His temperature was normal, but it felt like his head was going to split in two. Nathalie cancelled all of his modeling gigs that were supposed to take place after school, informing the photographers and even his father that it was on account of sickness. His father wasn’t the most lenient person in the world, but even he understood that Adrien’s allergies were no fault of his and he couldn’t exactly preform perfectly if he was sneezing every ten seconds. The bowler hat was the only exception because Marinette replaced the real feather with a fake one so he wouldn’t have an allergic reaction. Speaking of Marinette…  
  
The blonde turned in bed to lay on his back. His hand reached to his nightstand and grabbed his phone, turning it on. He groaned when he saw the words “No Notifications” stare back at him, as if taunting him and his vulnerability to feathers. He glanced at Plagg, who was, per usual, munching on cheese at his desk, admiring cheese photos online. The little glutton didn’t know when to quit, even as his chosen was moping in bed with a stuffy nose. He couldn’t risk going outside with his allergies at their peak. Which meant no rebellious consumption of baked goods, no sugary sweet kisses, and no snuggling in the arms of his beloved Marinette. _Oh Marinette_ , Adrien bemoaned, throwing an arm over his face. What he wouldn’t give to see the girl who could take away this loneliness in a heartbeat.  
  
A sudden tapping on his window made Adrien look in surprise. There were only a handful of options as to the source of the noise, considering how high up his room’s window is from ground and rock-throwing level. It was either an akuma, a bird pecking at the window, or… He spun around, his gaze hopeful, and it proved he was right. Ladybug was on the other side of the window, waving shyly to him. He smiled and waved back, then scrambled to get the remote, pressing the button to open the window. The spotted hero swung in quick enough so he could close the window, as to not irritate his allergy any further.  
  
“Hi,” Ladybug greeted with a small smile.  
  
“Hello, milady,” Adrien greeted back with a bow.  
  
“Nice pajamas,” she commented, moving her finger up and down his figure.  
  
Adrien’s cheeks reddened as he remembered what his sleepwear consisted of. His top was just a plain white t-shirt that said Miraculous across the chest. But his bottom were Ladybug-themed sweatpants he paid to be custom made back when Ladybug and Chat Noir were coming into their own as Paris’s local heroes. The blonde scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously.  
  
“Th-thanks,” he stammered. “Guess you have a soft spot for stray cats, considering you’re here.”  
  
Ladybug giggled. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m actually a dog person.”  
  
Adrien feigned a gasp, holding a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Milady! What would Chat Noir think?!”  
  
“He’ll live,” the heroine responded with a smirk and a wave of her hand. “Besides, there will always be many dogs in the world. But he knows that he’s the only kitty in my heart.” Adrien blushed at her response.  
  
Suddenly, Ladybug embraced him, pulled them down onto his bed. He barely had time to register the movement onto he noticed his head was tucked on her collarbone. Her suit felt cool. It helped greatly to reduce his headache. Adrien closed his eyes and settled in, his breathing even and his body comfortably curled up. Plagg moved out of the way to give the two some space, both happy that his kid gained someone that gave his world color again and grateful that Tikki was inside the earrings and therefore couldn’t tease him.  
  
“I dreamed of this moment for so long,” Adrien suddenly whispered. He felt his girlfriend stiffened slightly and decided to keep talking so she wouldn’t jump to any conclusions. “But at the same time, I was convinced it wasn’t going to happen, no matter how much I wished it. I wouldn’t have the witty, intelligent, creative, clumsy yet surprisingly brave, perfect girl with black spots in my arms for even a moment if it wasn’t because of an akuma attack. But turns out I was wrong on so many levels. I can hold her every day…and every night. I can play video games in her room, cuddle up to her in school, and watch her surprise me every day. I love you Marinette, no matter what you mask you wear.”  
  
He heard her gasp and felt her hold tighten on him. “I love you too, Adrien, mon chaton,” she managed to choke out, “and I’ll never stop loving you. That I swear.”  
  
The model slowly closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her. He let sleep overtake him, sleeping better than he ever had before Marinette came into his heart. When he woke up, the moon was high in the sky, overtaking the position he had last seen the sun in. Ladybug was nowhere to be found. However, the only proof she was there at all was on his coffee table. He picked up the note and the stem of Sweet Peas. He gave the sweet-smelling flowers a little sniff, his sinuses surprisingly clear, and opened the note to read it.  
  
_Dear Mon Amor,_  
 _Hope you’re feeling better. I’d be a sad little bug if my kitty was still suffering. Get better soon._  
 _Love,_  
 _Your Maribug_  
 _P.S. You’ve brought me flowers so often, I thought I’d return the favor._

At the end of the letter was a little drawn ladybug on a heart. The blonde held the note and the flowers close to his chest, smiling like a lovesick idiot. But he didn’t care. He would show his appreciation tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tired now. Must...rest.... Zzzzzzz


	30. Mari!Burglar and Chat!Vigilante

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, no one said I had to get super specific with the prompts.

When Adrien came back to school, clear skies overhead, he brought with him a big bouquet of Sweet Peas to thank his Princess for her generous visit. He knew that she would understand why Sweet Peas instead of the traditional roses. He came to school later than Marinette would, choosing to stay out of sight behind the bushes near the stairs. The blonde had to take several breaths to calm his racing heart. Yes, he and Marinette have been dating for a few weeks, both and Chat Noir and Marinette and now recently Adrien and Marinette—Nino and Alya teased them and their supposed ship name, which was Adrienette. Whenever they did, he’d take Mari’s hand and place a kiss on it, saying that as long as she was beside him, he’d continue to try and be worthy of being half of the name. Marinette would turn a fiery red and look away with a shy giggle.  
  
Adrien straightened his spine as the last person entered the school. With another deep breath and internal pep talk, the model walked into the school as well. He’d seen Marinette enter on time, so he was relieved that his grand plan wasn’t ruined. About 5 minutes before the bell, Adrien entered the designated classroom, Marinette in her new spot that Nino was happy to switch with her so, as Alya put it, the most sickeningly sweet couple in school (if not all of Paris) could always be together. The blonde coughed once, catching Marinette’s attention. When she looked up at him with her beautiful bluebell eyes, he pulled the bouquet out from behind his back.  
  
“For you, mon amour,” he said, making his girlfriend blush as she accepted the flowers, smelling them. Everyone ‘awww’ed at the display of affection. Well, almost everyone. Chloe gagged, but the subtle hint of being happy for them was evident to someone who really knew her.  
  
“Merci,” the blunette shyly thanked, hiding her reddened cheeks behind the lovely gradient pink flowers.  
  
“But none of them compare to you. Princess.”  
  
Okay, now everyone gagged. Alix even insisted they get a room. Alya and Nino gave him a thumbs-up after they were done barfing over the lovey-dovey atmosphere. Soon enough, Miss Bustier came into class with her same sunny smile and started the lesson of the day. Marinette scooted close to Adrien when she put her bouquet to the left of her on the bench. He laid his hand on top of hers under the table, and he smiled when she gave his hand a little squeeze.

* * *

Adrien gently swung Marinette’s hands while their fingers were intertwined. He decided to take his lovely girlfriend out on a leisurely walk on the town. They came across multiple cafés and boutiques. He insisted to buy her just about everything that she eyed for longer than 30 seconds, but she always refused. In Marinette’s words, she wasn’t dating him for his money, so he didn’t need to feel obligated to buy her anything. The blonde reluctantly agreed, offering to buy her some Starbucks instead. The pigtailed conceded to that, at least.  
  
The pair stopped at a game store as they sipped on their frappuccinos. They perused the PC section, pointing out anything interesting. Adrien took a glance at the cashier, who was looking at them with a touched expression. Guess she was a fan of couples walking into the store. The blonde looked back at Marinette when he heard her gasp. He noticed the sparkle in her eyes and followed her gaze to a high shelf.  
  
“Inner Facade 4,” the blunette whispered in awe. “I thought they cancelled production…”  
  
Adrien smiled softly and retrieved the game off the shelf, letting go of hand. Marinette looked at him with confusion, but then did a double take when he moved toward the cashier.  
  
“I’d like to buy this, please,” the model stated, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet, “as a gift.”  
  
“ _Adrien_!” Marinette whined, stomping her foot. “I said you don’t have to buy me anything!”  
  
“I know I don’t have to,” her boyfriend argued, “But I want to. We could even play together.”  
  
“It’s a single-player game.”  
  
“Then I’ll watch you kick butt in an rpg. Everyone wins.”  
  
The cashier cooed and put the game in a little bag. “That’s so sweet. Well, now you have something extra. Today we’re giving away a promotional item with every purchase.” She held up the little card pack. It had _Confessions_ on the front. “It’s a little game to play with friends, family, and lovers. Have fun~!” She placed the pack in the bag and handed it to Adrien.  
  
Adrien thanked her and held his arm out for Marinette to take. The pigtailed girl smacked his arm while pouting, but then kissed his cheek and put her arm in his as they walked out, wondering if they should play their little bonus game that night.

* * *

They decided yes. Yes, they would play their new game. Chat jumped down into Marinette’s room through her open hatch and closed it behind him. Marinette was sitting cross-legged on the floor with the card game on the floor, along with a 2-liter gallon of soda and two glasses. He sat across from her and eyed the drink.  
  
“I read the instructions,” Marinette explained, shuffling the cards. “I figured we’d do a little something extra. Since we’re too young to drink, I decided to mix it up a bit.” She handed one glass to Chat and poured in about a shot’s worth of soda into it. “If we refuse to answer, we take a shot. First one who needs to pee loses.”  
  
The hero chuckled and smirked. “Alright, Purrincess~ You’re on!”  
  
About an hour in, the pair were a giggling mess. Neither of them needed to use the restroom yet, so the game was still going strong. But Marinette’s stomach started to rumble a little and she discretely clutched it.  
  
“My turn!” the blonde declared and picked up a card. “Have you ever stolen anything?” he off the card. Marinette visibly paled, loudly gulping. Chat smirked, not looking at her. “This is an easy one. Even I know the answer.”  
  
The blunette blanched, her eyes widening fearfully. “You…Y-you do…?” she whimpered.  
  
“Of course I do,” her boyfriend answered and turned to her, “It’s obviously— Hey what’s wrong?” Once he got a good look at her face, he immediately became concerned. “Are you okay, Princess?” He knelt down and took her face in his hands.  
  
“How did you find out?” Marinette questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. And then she started babbling. “You were never supposed to find out. Look, I’m sorry I took your phone, but at the time, I was content watching you from afar. And now I know I didn’t stand a chance at the time. Well, I did, but not the way I wanted. And…I’m so, so sorry. Just the fact that you’re still here must mean you forgive me, but knowing that you know, I feel like I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”  
  
Chat blinked for a moment and then tilted his head. “You took my phone?” he asked, not a hint of anger in his voice.  
  
Marinette looked up at him through her bangs, equally confused. “Wait… That wasn’t what you were talking about?”

“No. But I do have some questions no. Why did you take my phone? And what’s this about not having a chance?”  
  
Marinette shyly pressed her index fingers together. “Well…I accidentally left a voicemail on your phone, asking you out on a date to the movies. But I never intended for you to hear it. You had enough on your plate with your modeling, your education, and your extracurriculars. And now I know you had a crush on Ladybug, who is actually me but you didn’t know that back then. So if you had received the message, you would’ve rejected me. So I went out of my way to erase the message. Unfortunately, the team back early and I had to make a dash with your phone.” She took a breath and released it slowly, going quiet.  
  
Chat didn’t scold her or yell. He laughed. He laughed heartily and held Marinette close, nuzzling her. All this time, he wondered where his phone went and how it magically appeared in his bookbag. “You’re crazy. But that’s one of the reasons I fell for you.” He kissed the top of her head.  
  
The blunette blushed and curled up in Chat’s arms. “Now I have a question, though. What did you think I stole if didn’t know about your phone?”  
  
“Why, Princess! It’s only the most valuable thing! You stole my heart!” Chat dramatically clutched his chest where his heart would be. “And for stealing such a treasure, I have to lock you up forever in the most impenetrable prison; my own two arms!” He grabbed her again and cradled her close, nuzzling her neck.  
  
Marinette giggled and kissed his head. “You’re such a silly kitty. But I wouldn’t love you any other way.”

“And I hope you stay the same crazy princess I know and love.” Their lips met in a loving kiss, embracing one another as the minutes ticked by, their little game long forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kinda sad. The next chapter is the last. But there is a guaranteed happy ending.


	31. Reincarnation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm was a day late starting this and I'm a day late ending it.  
> Kinda sad to see it end.

A couple years later, Adrien and Marinette decided to get their own apartment after graduating high school and going on to university. It was a comfortable two-bedroom space—the other bedroom was for guests—with a couple empty rooms to do with what they wished, a large bathroom in each bedroom, a comfy living area, and a fully functional kitchen. It was more than they could ever ask for. And, as Adrien had gotten used to, his girlfriend insisted that she pay for something in their living arrangements. So they can to the agreement that Adrien would pay rent and wi-fi while Marinette would pay for electricity, water, and groceries to balance the expenses out to almost half.  
  
Life felt perfect for the couple. Their love was as strong as when they first started dating. They were just like any other couple and fought about things on rare occasions, mostly about one getting hurt protecting the other in an akuma attack, but they always came out of those fights with a stronger bond. They kept their dates nights regular, even with crowded college schedules. Adrien would surprise Marinette with the simple movie night and three bowls of popcorn, as well as reservations to exclusive restaurants—she liked to pout about the latter, but she made a good amount of fancy dresses for her design classes that she never argued that she didn’t have anything to wear. Of course, he kept his tradition of giving her flowers on the monthly. He’d proclaim his love to her daily, and she would respond in kind.  
  
When May rolled around once more, Adrien had made his decision final. For three years they had dated. Three years of laughter, cuddling, akuma fights, and kind words. He was ready for anything. He only hoped she’d be happy.  
  
Marinette walked into their apartment and called out. “I’m home!” But she was confused when a few moments passed, and there was no sign of Adrien rushing out of whatever room he was in to scoop her off her feet and pepper her face with kisses. The blunette shrugged, her trust in him leaving no room for doubt. If anything, it was a sign that he was planning a surprise for her.  
  
“Good evening, Purrincess~” a familiar voice purred behind her, causing her to jump.

“Adrien!” Marinette screeched in shock. When she got a look at him, she fixed him with a confused look. “Why are you transformed?”  
  
“Well,” Adrien, now Chat, replied with a blush across his cheeks, “this is how I looked when we first started dating in May. I think I’d reenact the memories.”  
  
He pulled his gloved hands out from behind his back and held them out to her. Marinette gasped at the bouquet in his grip. The bouquet consisted of all the flowers he gave her the very first month they started dating: peonies, snapdragons, anemones, lilacs, carnations, roses, lily of the valley, tulips, gardenias, orchids, and sweet peas. She gently took the bouquet out his grasp with a teary smile, the love in her heart for her kitty about ready to burst. But the spell was broken when she heard something she couldn’t spot clatter to the floor.  
  
“What was that?” she asked, searching around her feet.  
  
“Don’t worry, I got it,” Chat responded, getting down to pick it up.  
  
But Marinette was stubborn. She continued to scan the hardwood floor. But she couldn’t find anything nearby. Did it fall under the couch? When she turned to tell Chat she didn’t see anything, she gasped. There her kitty was, down on one knee, holding a stunning diamond ring in his clawed fingers.  
  
It felt like the air was knocked out of her lungs. “Adrien…” Marinette choked out, tears welling up in her bluebell eyes.  
  
“Marinette, I fell in love with you when you were just a frightened girl who took a stand when Paris needed someone to protect them. Back then, I only had the mask to look at, so I unconsciously pushed the real you away from getting to close to heart. The day you got up in my face and told me off for a misunderstanding, I felt something amazing. As time went on, I got to know both sides of you, and I found them irresistible. You are all I need in my life. Your love is worth more than all the fame and fortune in the world. I can only hope you feel the same about both sides of me. Marinette, my Princess, my Ladybug… Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?”  
  
And with those words, the dam broke. Tears ran down Marinette’s freckled cheeks. She could only nod vigorously as the words were caught in her throat. “Yes!” she finally blurted. “Yes Adrien! My Chaton, I will marry you!” She threw herself onto him, crying tears of joy. The bouquet fell out of her hands as she locked her arms around his neck.  
  
“Claws in,” Chat whispered, wrapping his arms around her once her detransformed back into Adrien. He kissed Marinette with everything he had, which she returned with equal emotion, still locked in a tender embrace.  
  
“Isn’t this so sweet?” Tikki asked as soon as Plagg joined her on top of the bookcase.  
  
“I still think it’s gross,” the black kwami commented with a gagging sound.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” the spotted kwami teased, placing a chaste kiss on Plagg’s cheek. “Your chosen reminds me of you when you proposed to me~”  
  
“W-well,” Plagg stuttered his whiskers standing on end, “he _is_ my reincarnation, after all. Same with you and your chosen, _Bugaboo_.”  
  
Tikki giggled, cuddling up to her partner. “I always found that name kinda sweet.”  
  
“I know you did,” he responded, leaning against her.  
  
“Who would’ve thought a simple little rose would lead to all this?” the creation kwami commented, watching as their Miraculous holders held their embrace, laughing through teary eyes. “I guess April showers _do_ bring May flowers.”

“You always were way too sentimental,” Plagg offhandedly remarked, causing Tikki to pout.

“All your reincarnations before Adrien were so tactless. Let me have this. All my reincarnations were the ones who had to propose. Don’t forget Princess Marina, Duchess Lorenza, Sumiki, and even Castella had to be the first to propose to their respective partners.”

“Alright, alright,” Plagg relented with a toothy grin. “You know I love you, Tikki.”

Tikki smiled and snuggled back up to him. “And I love you, Plagg. Throughout all these lifetimes, watching a piece of our souls be reborn in a new Miraculous holder, I always will love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least I have Lukanette August to prepare for now. And some Misadventures of Adrien Agreste Chapters to write.


End file.
